Not to be Denied

After school we went to Crescent Beach and let the kids play in the sand.

I heard about this program weeks in advance. Notice arrived in the form of an e-mail from the mother of my children. The preschool class the twins attended was going to have a special program in honour of Father’s Day. Could I attend?

I hate disappointing my kids. I would rather tell them no, they can’t have what they want, than say yes and not deliver. I’ve never wanted to be a dad who said, “Yeah, I’ll be there.” and then didn’t show; the cliche Disney villain dad.

I gave my standard response, “I don’t know where I’m going to be that week. If I’m in town, I’ll be there.”

A few days passed. I heard again, “Is Dad going to be there?”

“I don’t know.”

Fig. 1

Apparently this went on for days. It finally stopped, at least for me, the day I committed to attending the program. The plan was for their mother to pick me up at work and drive me to their school. I heard on the actual day of that they continued to nag and harass their mother about her ability to find my office and then drive us to the school. They did this with a daily tenacity that five year-olds seem to specialize in. I actually felt sorry for her.

I walked into the classroom and there they were. I could tell just by looking at them they were extremely pleased. At the same time they were being cool and restrained in front of their teachers and classmates as all kids are.

Fig. 2

Oddly I hope they never lose this capacity. Specifically: knowing what it is they want and then not stopping until they get it. Oh sure, I’d like for it to be tempered of course with the wisdom of knowing what’s good to go after, what isn’t, and of course when it’s appropriate. I can imagine the potential carnage without that restraint, but really, if they learn that, oh the places they’ll go.

Figure 1.  The twins showing me the cookies and gifts they made.

Figure 2.  We went to Crescent Beach after school to enjoy the sunshine for a few hours before an evening of homework.