I love being a dad. It's amazing to me watching my two little ones grow up so fast and there's so much going on in their lives that it seems like it's flying right on by. They do cool things every single day and it's impossible to remember them all. You can take all the pictures and movies you want, but you can't catch everything. That's why I try and find little moments that I can stash away forever. Moments that you can't capture on film (or memory cards).
Tonight one of those "moments" happened and I'd like to share it with you all. Raymore is a wonderful place around the 4th of July. You get morons setting fireworks off at all hours, and it's not even the 4th yet. Obviously, these people don't have children. Anyway, Max is trying to fall asleep, but all of the fireworks are keeping him awake. Not only is the noise loud, but it's scary to be 2 1/2 and hear all these fireworks going off at random times. So, really sweetly Max asks, "Will you hold me dadda?" How can I say no to that, so I lay down next to him. It's just me, Max, and Mickey Mouse. Max is restless with all the noise, so I sing him a couple of songs. Then he asks me to "go up in the sky and punch the fireworks in the face (that's what I tell him when there's thunder, that I'm going to punch it in the face)." We're laying there and the perfect song comes on. It's Ben Harper and Jack Johnson singing "High Tide or Low Tide" originally sung by Bob Marley. Here are the lyrics:
I'm gonna be your friend,
I'm gonna be your friend.
In high tide or in low tide,
I'll be by your side,
I'll be by your side.
(I heard her praying, praying, praying)
I said, I heard my mother,
She was praying (praying, praying, praying)
And the words that she said (the words that she said),
They still linger in my head (lingers in my head),
She said, "A child is born in this world,
He needs protection,
God, guide and protect us,
When we're wrong, please correct us.
(when we're wrong, correct us).
And stand by me." yeah!
In high seas or in low seas,
I'm gonna be your friend,
He said, "I'm gonna be your friend."
And, baby, in high tide or low tide,
I'll be by your side,
I'll be by your side.
I siad I heard my mother,
She was crying' (I heard her crying'), yeah! (crying', crying'),
And the tears that she shed (the tears that she shed)
They still linger in my head (lingers in my head)
She said: "A child is born in this world,
He needs protection,
God, guide and protect us,
When we're wrong, (when we're wrong), correct us.
And in high seas or low seas,
I'm gonna be your friend,
I'm gonna be your friend.
Said, high tide or low tide,
I'll be by your side,
I'll be by your side.
Such a great song! I laid there for a few more minutes with him, then I really needed to get back to working on some wedding pics, so I started to get up to leave, and Max says really sweetly, "Please don't go dadda. I need you." So I wrapped my arm around him and rubbed his back gently. I'm actually falling asleep at this point when I feel a little hand reach over and start patting me on my shoulder (his tiny arms won't reach my back) like I'm patting his back. I start rubbing his forehead gently with one of my fingers to get him to calm down and close his eyes like I used to do, and he starts playing with my stubble on my face (this is a sign that he's close to being asleep). I pop over Mickey's head and give him a kiss on the forehead and tell him how much I love him, and the next thing I know he's out.
Anyway, the point of my story is that moments like that should never be forgotten. Times like these let me know that I'm doing something right because my child loves me so much, and I'm the one that gets to comfort my little man. In a few years, it's going to be me trying to keep him away from the fireworks, but for now, it's me holding him so he won't be scared.
On a side note, I didn't get many pictures edited, but that's okay.
I would like to conclude with a picture of my two wonderful children that I took the other day.
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