Yesterday
my boys and I traveled to my hometown to celebrate Christmas with my parents,
siblings, and extended family. The drive to Aurora takes about an hour and
forty minutes, so there's plenty of time for discussion if indeed one is not
alone. Ryan and Tyler sat in back and alternated between gaming and snoozing.
17 year old Eric sat in front and luckily for me, was wide awake and interested
in conversing the whole way.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A dozen
years ago I made that same drive to Aurora. For reasons I can't remember, my
five year old son was my only passenger that day (a rarity for me to travel
with just one child). I remember that trip clearly. Eric was extremely
talkative and inquisitive, asking how the roads we were driving on were built,
who constructed the telephone poles in the distance, why the toll booths were
there, and more. In fact, he was so chatty during that trip that I recall being
relieved we had arrived so I could get a temporary reprieve from answering
question after question. I gladly
handed his inquiring mind over to my mother, who was more than willing to give
me a break and shower her grandson with love and attention.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topics that
came up for discussion during this most recent trip included the soaring cost
of attaining a college education, the recent ambush of two New York police officers,
the Google executive's recent space jump, and even the story of how I came to
meet his mother back in 1995. Eric's insight, intelligence, and inquisitiveness
were present as always. That 100 minute drive has proven to be boring countless
times in the past. Eric flipped the script and made it a pleasure this time
around.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A decade
plus has passed between these two trips. During a long walk this morning I
started thinking about some of the different things, places, and impactful
people that have become a part of my life's journey between then and now. I
jotted them down when I got home and the list included things such as common
core, knee osteoarthritis, Facebook, a polar vortex, youtube, and Sirius XM
radio. I had never heard of places such as Newtown, Connecticut and Ferguson,
Missouri a dozen years ago and people such as Avery Elizabeth, Leah Monroe,
Robert Christopher, Rafael Nadal, and Steve Bartman were either
people I had never heard of or had yet to be born.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love all
of my children deeply, equally, and unconditionally, yet I find my recent
thoughts focusing a bit more on Eric, simply because I know he'll be off to
college come the fall of 2015. It's just so hard for me to come to the
realization that the five year old boy from that aforementioned journey is now
just several months away from leaving the nest. Every parent reading this can
draw a parallel to their own path as a mother/father when it comes to knowing
how quickly their offspring's childhood flies by. Every parent reading this
would turn back the clock to experience those special moments once again if
he/she were able to do so.
As a father
who has thoroughly enjoyed each and every stage of fatherhood, accepting the
passage of time is a tough pill to swallow. Tonight I weep for joy at the
memories I cherish, for sadness over Eric's impending flight from the nest,
and appreciation for both the blessings
of fatherhood that He has already given me and for those yet to come. Tonight I
weep for sadness that my offspring's childhoods are coming to an end. Tonight I
weep for joy because no matter how much time passes, I will always be their
father.
