I thought this would be a good time to write my first post. I created this blog site a few years ago, but in my typical ADHD fashion, haven't got around to posting anything. I've done a few posts in my written journal, but I actually type a lot faster than I write...so here it goes.
I am always fretting about engaging in my son's life. Today I finally stepped forward and enjoyed as complete a day as I've ever had with him. His name is Sam, and he's my 12-year old blessing. Being a divorced dad has but some pressure on me to be as a good a companion as possible. Maybe too much pressure, and I do need to relax more about that. However today just worked on many levels.
It started well enough by going to church together, then home where we had lunch, and then set out on a long bike trek. My neighbor Elmer was out vacuuming his new fishing boat, and when he's out you have to spend a few minutes to chat. When Sam and I finally did set out, we rode all the way to the high school and back...probably 10 miles in all...quite the hike. The day was clear and sunny...but with a bit of a chill and a strong north wind. We had to deal with that wind on the way back, but all went well. Sam was complaining at first on how tiring the ride was, but as we moved on, he became more "energetic" - probably excited that he could ride that far!
When we returned Elmer was still out in his boat, and I finally succumbed to Sam's insistence that we use the canoe (on load from a work buddy) in our garage and head for the pond behind our house. This pond has a tiny island in the middle, and Sam was enthralled with the idea that we could paddle there. I said why not and we both lifted the heavy aluminum sucker out of the garage, and only about 50 feet down the driveway before Sam gave out. We tried some more, but it was not looking good. Finally, with some energy based on raw interest, I lifted the front and hauled it by myself down to the pond's edge. I had Sam sit in front, and I got in back and then pushed away from the shoreline. We started floating out, but the wind was blowing us back to shore. We did make it past that, and eventually landed on that tiny island. We both got out, and lo and behold I found an old soccer ball in between some small pine trees. We put that in the canoe, and headed back. We wanted to go around one more time, but the wind was too much, and we took out. I dragged that thing back into my garage, with Elmer amused by it all.
After that we finally had a soccer ball...which was really cool since Sam was asking for one earlier and ended up kicking around some small plush ball. We used our swing set as a goal and took five shots each, over and over. That was pretty exhausting, but even so I was determined to get the most out of this day and so we walked to what I told Sam was a "magical place". The walk was long, and of course Sam kept asking about this "place". Finally we arrived at an old railroad bridge over a creek, and Sam was genuinely interested...although he called it "scary". He did have fun looking down at the creek below, and asked a lot of questions about the railroad, and of course, if the bridge might give way. We ended up walking back home, but not before Sam got himself some Arby's curly fries :)
Dinner was next to refuel, and we just enjoyed a lazy night at home. We wrestled a bit with a little football thrown in, and then ended the night with floor hockey. This was a really great day, and thankfully I was well enough to enjoy it. God is definitely GOOD!
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