Flying solo!

This week Katie and Jiggs are up in Sacramento to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Baer. As a result, the boys and I are flying solo. While I always enjoy my time with the boys, we are missing Kate and Jiggs. Typically, when we sit down at dinner as a family we will discuss or share about our days. This week, however, dinner conversation has focused around guy talk...wrestling, football and more importantly Jeeps. Tonight's conversation was funny in that the boys starting asking me questions such as, "daddy, when you were a little boy did you..." It made me think about how quickly life can fly by and how we grow from experiences. I discussed how upset I was when I crashed on my bikes, sold my dirt bike for a loss, wreaked my parents car, got dumped by a girlfriend etc. The boys just stared at me and asked questions. We talked about how I try and learn from each experience and how at the time, I thought it was the end of the world. This conversation made me sad as I thought about the boys growing up and how mean and unfair life can be. In my job I see sad things daily, yet I try not to get desensitized, and make every effort to protect my kids from those experiences. But there are things you just cant protect them from because those are experiences that help define them as adults. It is hard to see a boy picked on for the first time, a boy left out, a boy not fitting in, etc, all of which we experience some time in life, but to think of your own child in these situations is rough. I have yet figured out how to tell kids that this is just a "rite of passage" in a manner they understand. As we talked about things, I looked into thier little eyes and was reminded just how innocent they are and how those little things can really hurt. While I am glad to report that the boys have not yet faced these issues, the time will come. Sawyer recently had a little bout with a "mean 3rd grader" at school and it took everything in daddy not to advise his bigger, and I mean bigger brother, to lay down a little playground justice for his little brother! I would have done this but I could feel Katies big heart in the room telling me not to do such a thing. Kate and I often discuss what WE want for the boys and smile. For me, I just want them to be good men with a heart that is not calloused like their fathers! The entire night made me think o a song Katie and I recently rediscovered: