I picked up Karin and Tyler from the airport yesterday afternoon. They’ve both been gone for a week visiting her folks and it was great to finally see them again. As I pulled up to the curb and waved to them I couldn’t help but notice how much Tyler had changed in the seven days that I haven’t seen him.
It only took a week, but I could clearly see the physical changes, and soon noticed that his mental development had progresses as well. I guess it’s a parent thing (I still can’t believe I am one), but having never raised a child before this moment came as a shock. I do not believe that sometime during the previous week my Tyler was abducted by pod people and replaced with a near-perfect carbon copy, but the changes were quite staggering and evident.
This, more than anything to date, has really hammered home the fact that Karin and I should treasure each day with Tyler. Sooner than either of us expect he’ll be riding a bike, going to kindergarden, playing sports, doing well in school, attending his prom, going to college…then he’s gone. Our son. Off on his own. Forever.
But in the meantime we’re stocking up on DVDs of The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Mister Rogers…because every kid deserves a decent television role model.
Between the hours spent at work trying to get a new iteration of my server configuration program to function as intended and helping the wife pack up for her trip back East tomorrow (and getting to bed early enough to ensure that we get to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning), I actually learned something of questionable value.
Today I learned that Slinky’s can hover for a split second:
How this will be useful in my everyday life, I’m still not quite sure…
Just when I’m sure that the world couldn’t possibly get any bleaker, when I’m positive we’ve hit a new low yet are ever aiming lower, and the television keeps feeding me stories of war, disease and famine, a group of people spontaneously come together in a moment of clarity, love and humanity and drive away the shadows of despair.
This is what happens when people put aside their petty differences and work together for a common and decent cause. Sure, they’re not pulling a person out from underneath a burning car, but collectively they do what any good person would in such a situation.
It’s moments like this reaffirms my belief that the majority of us aren’t necessarily bad at heart:
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Will see you again next week…
This becomes progressively more interesting as the song goes on. I’m amazed he was able to keep this up for so long without missing a beat. This man is an unheralded genius.
