Saturday, February 16, 2008

Elia and I hit the fly shop today and I looked up from perusing some beads and Elia was standing by Don, the owner. "Excuse me." she says.

"I broke my Dora the Explorer fishing rod and need a new one. Where do you keep the girl fishing rods?"

Don laughed and showed her a 6 ft 2 wt. Pretty funny moment, complete with the shop owner trying to upsell my 3 year old!

I sometimes wonder if I'll remember these moments in another 10 years. They come from nowhere, and hit a father harder than anyone can imagine (except another dad) and the most amazing thing about it is that there are so many of these moments. You would think that the sheer volume of words and looks combined with the massive emotional charge they deliver would wear you down over time. But that hasn't happened. Each time Elia or JJ does something like that I fall to the floor again, and get back up thinking "I'm never going to forget that." The reality is that in some cases, I probably will forget the actual words, or the exact moment; but I think that big jolt of electricity that stuns you stays with you. It keeps building up and as near as I can tell, I've got plenty of room for more.

You really do love your kids more each day. Think about how amazing that is.

6 comments:

Wendy Berrell said...

We always heard stuff like that [love your kids more each day] from our folks... and now we start to understand.

Elia says a lot of cool and interesting things... funny too it seems.

It sounds kind of corny, but we've taken to writing those things in a "James Journal" of sorts. I look at it like this: would it be cool to have a record of things I'd said while growing up? Yes.

Just wrote this one in there today: James said as he tried to remove his shirt: "My head is just a little too big. Maybe I should try to pull it down over my legs."

John Montana said...

That is a classic. We've been writing some things down as well. Kids have a great perspective on everyday life.

texasflyfisher said...

I can't even tell you how much my world changed after having kids (for the better). I can't imagine a life without them.

I notice you don't use labels much in your blog. I suggest you add a label anytime you talk about your kids. That way, you can easily pull up all those posts and show them to the kids. You'll be surprised reading all those old posts and just how happy those kids make you. I just use the label "Kids" on mine http://texasflyfisher.blogspot.com/search/label/Kids

Mike and Katy said...

Although my little boy isn't saying any cute phrases yet(he does however practice his cooing and babbleing often)it seems like he is growing too up too fast. It is amazing when they learn new things and the world is so open and new to them.

I've really enjoy your blog, especially when you've spoken of you great experiences of fatherhood. I started reading a few months before Connor was born and your experiences helped me to not be as nervious about fatherhood and made me excited to share my love of the outdoors with my boy.

John Montana said...

Thanks Mike...I just checked out yours, some great stuff on there! Can't wait to see Connor with a nice fish!

Good tip on the labels TX...I need to start doing that!

texnfly said...

My three year old son was sitting in the back seat on the way to Taos over the Christmas holidays.

"Mom, Dad I caught a fish! Look! I caught a fish!"

I take my eyes off the road long enough to turn around and see the biggest green booger I've seen in a long time hanging from his index finger.

"Uhhh, son, I hope you're practicing catch and release..."

My wife and I laughed for next fifty miles.

Nothing better than parenthood. The payoff far outweighs the tribulation. (I have a seventeen year old also so I speak from experience.)

Thanks for sharing your stories and keep up the carp blogging.