Photo of the Day: Everything Is Going To Be Okay. I Hope.
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- by Mark Stephens on Mon May 30, 2011 - Add comment
Parenthood, man. How'd we get here?
When it comes to getting dressed in the morning, or sticking a straw into a Capri Sun pouch, or anything else of the sort, my own daughter, who's going on 4 years old very soon, claims she can do it all by herself. "I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll do it!" And let me tell you, you'd better just let her do it. But then she'll jam that straw down, bend it, kink it, attempt to suck down the juice and then cry because "it doesn't work."
Truthfully, I like to use this to my advantage sometimes. Like towing her in the trailer on a bike ride. She'll buckle herself into the seat. She'll fill her own water bottle before we leave the house. She'll go to the bathroom all by herself.
Truthfully, again, it stings when she doesn't want a hand with the simplest things. Sure I understand that, one day, I'm going to have to watch my little spawn grow up, move out, make huge mistakes, make huger successes. I can't always extend my hand and do things for her. It's not that I want to accomplish things for her, I just want to help her. I just want to teach her how to stick a plastic straw into a juice box so that it doesn't kink. I want to set her on the path, you know? Just humor me, kid, will ya?
The mother in this shot looks like she's handling a lot better than I am. She's smiling. I wonder how she made it though the straw phase.
Good chance it was the surfing.
Photo via Mike Carey.
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