One of the problems I have faced over the years is the juggling
how much time I spend with an individual kid.
The kids refer to the one on one time with Steph and me as Special time
with Mom / Dad, and I agree that it is special.
Over the week, we watched a bunch of movies, played some
video games, and also went camping. We
ate at a restaurant, had Chinese take out, and ordered pizza, all in one week.
The camping trip however is what I will remember the most of
the whole week. We did bring my laptop,
and retired to the tent at about 11 to watch a movie, one that we had to turn
off mid-way so Sean could produce the most bizarre looking vomit. We ate Oreos in the tent while watching the
movie, and he preceded the Oreos with purple Gatorade, a hamburger, and beef jerky. It came out as sludge, and when we left the campground
the following afternoon it was still sitting in a small pile as if it was fresh
from the poor kid.
But the fun was had both days.
The first day, we headed out early in the morning and set up
camp. As we discovered something like
the 5th forgotten item, Sean told me he felt we were unprepared for
the camping trip. I proceeded to tell
him about some of my camping trips that I had gone on over the years, and
forgotten items on those trips. We in
the end decided that we didn't need the few items that we forgot. This led to many stories of my camping trips
I had taken over the years.
We went on a hike, and both of us spent a good portion of
the time climbing to high spots, and hoping we didn't fall. We played at the falls, and just hung out at
camp. The best part of this trip was the
conversations we had. We talked about
divorce, religion, health issues, and family.
I let him pick the topics, and he kept the conversations going. The details of the conversations are too long
to type, but I can say I was surprised at a whole bunch of the things he
said. Surprised in a good way..lol
We spent a great deal of time talking about religion,
politics, economics, and other what I would call adult topics. I did mention he started almost every
conversation right. Who would think an
11 year old would ask about economics… I was pretty sure he is my kid, I mean
he looks just like me and all, but now I am sure..lol
The thing is, some of the things he said made me feel real
good, and it made the trip priceless when you want to assess the value of
it. At one point Sean said to me
something to the effect of, “You have changed my life. You have taught me more than anyone I know,
and I love how you can explain something to me in ways I can understand, you
have made me a better person.”
If this alone didn't make me feel like an awesome father,
the next day he did it again…
While hanging out at the falls, he noticed that I was
walking odd, and asked if I was feeling OK.
I told him I was not feeling well, but I would be fine. There is a point on the trail where there are
about 70 steps to climb. I was making
jokes about how the stairs were going to kill me, but he was panting almost as
hard..lol
We stopped about half way up for a brake, and after I
started up again he told me “Dad, I love how you with your bad back and all
your other problems, are always the first person to get up and say let’s go.”
Anyhow, I am proud of my kids. Glad to be a part of their life. And happy to be the person that they look up
to.
Here are a few pictures from the trip.
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