From a Dad's View What Do You Do, Dad? By David Pereyra Liesl climbs the weathervane sculpture down by the riverfront after a mighty struggle -- "no, I can do it myself." A low bass boat horn blasts, sending her jumping and running over to me. This untitled sculpture is her Carolina office. I'm told to go to my office, a nearby picnic table. Now you get on top of your office, says my bossy bessy, reclimbing the sculpture. Now what we do? With the sun low, we're nearly in the shadow of her mom's office building, located across the field and down the street past the museum. Look, ma! This is our usual ride home from school, at play the whole way, bike ride, treats, a walk along a wall. What are they doing, she'll ask, as people gather at restaurants. Liesl loves crowds. Whenever she sees one she'll call out, " a party! " Rewind. Liesl, our soon to be three-year-old, wakes in fine fashion. She growls and scowls at me while calling out, momma. M o m m a! "As if saying, "getaway poppa." A typical morning wakeup call. The happier I am at wakeup, the more resistance I get, something to do with the mother/child bond, I think. Liesl will take me anytime during the day and evening. But at bedtime and during her wakeup ritual, she much prefers her mother . Momma's at work, I say. " Noooooo!" she blasts back and buries herself under covers. "Up and attem," I say. It takes a moment but Liesl comes around . What We Do. Liesl squeals from the back of the house. She's talking to the iMac. Now I doubleclick, she says, jerking the mouse across the table top. "How it goes?" she asks, unable to get that clickety click down. Liesl bounds out the back door and begins a dance for help. She's stuck in the elevator and Sherlock Hemlock wants her to click on the number 5. Zounds! With mom off to work this is our typical morning together. And I guess the reason I've chosen this path, this approach. Liesl settles on the bench on the back patio and I head inside to fetch some juice. I watch through the kitchen window. She's got any number of imaginery friends. There's Max the dog and Philip. I almost stepped on her friends this morning, a crew of dalmation pups, I think. Now, I hear her out back talking to herself and her friends. Singing. Climb a Tree. She doesn't quite get the bike peddle thing but can ride the bigwheel. As I walk and she rides through the neighborhood Liesl asks, who lives there. Who lives there. Why? My neighbor Rich is a photographer. Liesl loves to visit. She loves to pay visits I should say. It's the calling on people she enjoys.The activity. The party! Take a Picture. Rich suggested I grab a disposable camera and let Liesl take a coupla pictures a day. Keep them in a scrapbook or something. He believes the tactility of pointing and clicking a camera will shape Liesl's outlook. Teach her to be more observant. Teach her, period. She loves to shoot pictures. Now that she knows how to work a camera she's become an animated model as well, cutting up but knowing when to say, cheese! Taco Loco. "I use to work at my company," says Liesl, clambering down from the weathervane sculpture, its blades slowly slowly spinning in the drafty river breeze. "My people help me travel," she continues. "Who are your people?" I ask.. "My people at my office in Carolina downtown. My doll and Toto and my baby and Mama Kitty." "What we do now?" she asks. "I want" . . . she says suddenly in a low voice that I don't quite get. What are you saying ? "I want Taco Loco," she sing-songs, sounding like the boy from The Shining that keeps saying redrum in that froggy way. A little voice trying to disguise its heart's desire. Sure sure, why not. And this is our day. A day in the life as office buildings discharge workers. People blink a bit in the daylight, move on. I call the momma and stand looking at her office building while we talk. "Guess where we're going?" I say. And she knows. A day in the life. A postcard. It's the little things we remember. Liesl takes the phone, cradles it to her ear and begins walking and talking to the momma. An adult. A girl ... Growing up. Look, ma! "We're going to Taco Loco," says Liesl to the momma. Yeah, yeah, and you can come too! Recent Columns From a Dad's View • When the BlueSuitMom has to travel • Deciding to become a stay-at-home dad David Pereyra is a stay-at-home dad and the other half of a BlueSuitMom.		R e l a t e d Fatherhood Conferences The Third Annual National Summit on Fatherhood, Friday & Saturday, June 2 & 3, 2000, Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. Among this year's awardees are: country musician Tim Mcgraw and former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly. Featured topics include Creating Local Fatherhood Initiatives; Creating State Fatherhood Initiatives; "What Ever Happened to Daddy's Little Girl?"; The 6 Basics of Being a Great Dad; and, Working with At-Home Dads