When you’re a dad of two infinitely energetic and overly dramatic boys, married to your best friend, work for the man in a pressure chamber, and overcome by your own immature obsessions of bikes and skateboards, your days tend to be overrun with unavoidable obligations, a latitude of challenges, and an unfortunate lack of personal introspection.

So when the tumblers of life’s complicated lock line up and reveal the happiness behind the door of obligation, it’s important to carve out the time to pen down the appropriateness of the enlightened moment so you can remember just how beautiful life is.


The theme of the last few months can easily be summarized in one word; compromise. There’s been a lot with the move, the job, the obligations, the changes, and the drama.

On paper, today looked like it was going to be absent of obligations. It was the first day in some time where we didn’t have to go somewhere and do something for someone. So waking up this morning (Saturday), I greeted the day with a cautious optimism. Was it too good to be true? Nope. It lived up to its billing and then some.


It was a day where I really lived up to my 'age' (sort of, but not really).

I started out the day with an early ride at the freeride park to get a fix on my insatiable need for big air and mud. I guess I’m kind of elemental that way. It was great day of rocking a big ass step down and styling over a hip. I headed home after the ride to be greeted by the boys. I grabbed a cold refreshing beer and Son #1 and I plopped our narrow bottoms down on the couch and played some Lego Batman on Wii. After we led the Dark Knight through multiple levels of righting Gotham City, we had a little lunch. Peanut butter jelly sandwiches and BBQ chips for everyone. Gourmet-style which means we served them on plates with napkins.


Son #2 dropped off the radar during nap time, Son #1 got some TV time, and my wife and I were able to grab a moment of ‘clarity’ between the hot laps of the boys around coffee table. Son #1 was disturbed by the peace in the house so we chose to break that up with some entertainment. By way of the evil conglomerate Comcast, we were able to sit at watch the finely produced and surely award winning movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks. In requirements defined by the great authority of parenting, my wife and I each enjoyed a cold adult beverage during the flick. Believe me, it was needed. But Son #1 loved the movie.

And then Son #2 got up from his nap and it was time to run some more. Our plan was to BBQ for dinner but the laziness of the day and the effects of energetic children and alcohol have a slowing effect on a person. So instead, dinner was the vitamin and mineral enriched solution of chili cheese fries and buffalo chicken.

After some more laps around the living room, the boys were promptly shoved into their pajamas and tucked into their beds. The day was coming to an end, so my wife and I grabbed another beer and enjoyed the last few hours together in front of the television. Apparently, it was 'my choice' in entertainment but I didn’t have the remote control. Despite that, we ended up being sucked into our typical Saturday routine of catching up on the supernatural and bloodsucking population of Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Now if I could have only snuck in some skateboarding, this might have been one of the best days ever on record. Well, maybe not to that degree. My wedding and the boys’ births were pretty big too. But this was a much needed day in the overall scheme of things. The day wasn’t totally without drama though.


For example, after we were done watching the academy award winning Alvin and the Chipmunk, we decided to eat 'healthy' and have more beer and kettle chips. Son #1, minus the beer, had some chips. As my wife passed him a chip, by some turn of events, he got some salt, pepper, or a finger in his eye. Now Son #1 has a flare for the dramatic. I'd estimate that all of the Seafair-goers in a ten mile radious could hear the screams of terror from this eye-jammie over the roar of the hydroplanes. And then there’s Son #2 who can neither be out done by his older brother nor let his older brother have a toy that he wants. After several screaming sessions and the resulting time outs, he figured out that he can’t have the Grave Digger monster truck and he should settle for Outlaw.


That was our great day. Sure, I was responsible some of the time. But we got to act like kids and still be parents. I'm grateful that I’ve never really grown up after all of these years. Hell, neither has my wife and that's why we work so well together. I’m completely comfortable with the fact that I’ve never really grown up. I still like skateboards, bikes, dumb kids movies, and beer. No one should take themselves so seriously that they lose track of that inner adolescent inside. I love being a 12 year old.