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Look out Mt. Shasta--here comes
P and G! |
Patrick is leaving tomorrow on a "man adventure" with my brother-in-law Gavin. They will be summiting Mt. Shasta with a crew from REI over the weekend. I helped Patrick pack up his backpack tonight and it officially weighed in at 30.4 lbs. He will also need to carry water so he will be spending the weekend lugging almost 40 lbs around with him in what appears to be the worlds most uncomfortable hiking boots (double plastic mountaineering boots for those who were wondering). Good luck Patrick.
Shamu doing his thing
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| At the viewing window for the Beluga whales |
We celebrated Father's Day today as a family. P took the day off from work and we spent a leisurely morning eating waffles, strawberries, and blueberries. After Liam's nap we headed to Sea World. The weather was nice and we caught the new Shamu show, One Ocean. Laney had never seen it before and was delighted by the back-flipping whales and the fact that people were getting splashed by them. Thankfully we were not in the Soak Zone or I don't think she would have been so delighted. We visited the penguins, walruses, polar bears, and the beluga whales. Laney really likes those whales and I really like that their exhibit is indoors and air conditioned.
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| Happy Father's Day to a truly remarkable daddy! |
Later we let her run around in the kiddie play area. She loves to climb the giant cargo nets and go down the twisty slide. It is pretty difficult as a parent to stand down at the bottom of the cargo net and watch your 3 year old ascend. I kept reminding myself that she would be fine if she fell and was quite capable of climbing on her own. Still, a nervous energy thrummed through me until she made it to the top and climbed completely into the playhouse. That right there is the difficult yet amazing part of being a parent. Part of you is standing there cheering for your child as they accomplish something new and on their own. The other part of you is thinking of all the horrible things that could go wrong and you can't help wondering if you should dash up the cargo net after them and lead them by the hand to the top, just to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Instead you stand at the bottom with a huge smile plastered on your face as you see the proud look on your baby's face when they realize that
they did it. You act like a fool jumping up and down, not caring what anyone else thinks, as you thrust your fists into the air and yell "hooray!"
I just now realized that today was a dry run for this weekend. I will keep reminding myself that Patrick and Gavin will be fine and are quite capable of climbing to the top of Mt. Shasta. I will not allow myself to think of all the horrible things that could go wrong, because they won't. Laney will be dancing on stage in front of hundreds at her dance recital Saturday, and I will be there to reassure her that she can and will get up on stage and dance. No matter how that dance goes, I will be waiting in the wings for my little prima ballerina with my heart on my sleeve. I will be a cheerleader for all of them no matter what kind of energy is thrumming inside of me. My family takes flight this weekend as they endeavor on new adventures. I am making a promise to myself that I will not fret and I will not worry about the "what ifs" at all for the next few days. I promise I will be the fool jumping up and down, fists in the air; not the one dashing nervously up the cargo net to hold someone's hand.
