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Wednesday, July 06, 2005

The 4th of July on the Water

We spent the fourth of July at a friend’s house on the Potomac River. We had a great time as it was beautiful. This house is just gorgeous as our friends own the company Apex Systems in Richmond (100M in revenue last year). We were able to spend time on the docks and out on the Jet Ski’s. I had never used a jet ski before, but wanted to try it out. Actually, the kids really wanted to do it, so I figured I would have to do it so they did not think I was a big pansy (they can find that out when they are older). The other dads were taking out their kids on the Jet Ski, and offered to take Dryver and Stryde out for a ride. I knew that I should do this, but since I had never used a Jet Ski before was concerned that not only would I sink, but I would drown the kids in the meantime.

Anyway, I took it out and it was a blast. After I can to jump into the water and get rid of the seaweed that had stuck in the engine, and also had to try and pull myself up back onto the device, with very little knowledge of where and how to do this. I was able to get the Jet Ski to reach 50 mph at least. It was a blast. I then took the ski into the dock and Dryver, who was very excited, got on the ski with me. I started taking him out, but he was scared. He said that we should go slowly, and as I sped up he would get mad at me and tell me that it was dangerous and that I should slow down. I took him for a spin, which he loved, and then asked if he wanted to go around again, and he said ‘No!’ He told me that we needed to get back in to the dock, it was too scary.


Stryde sure is a nutty little kid... Posted by Picasa

I then got in, hoping that Stryde would not want to go, since I was worried it was too big for him, but of course he was waiting for his turn. As soon as Dryver jumped off, he was already climbing down the dock to get on the ski. He almost jumped in at one point and was going to swim over to me, though he does not know how to swim. I got him on the Ski and held him with one hand, as I had done with Dryver. He looked over his shoulder at me, and said ‘let me go Daddy, let me go’. I put both hands on the handlebars, and was off. We went fast, faster, faster. I was hitting waves, jumping over moguls, and running this ski to the maximum volume possible. Stryde was staying pretty quiet, but I thought if I went fast he would be satisfied and then go back in.

We came around and I told him time was up. I was just glad we had not crashed. He said ‘No Daddy, No!’ He wanted to go again, and I had no choice. After going around a few more times, I finally told him we had to go in, which he was not happy about. When he got off, he said he wanted to go again, but we said we would go next time we came to visit. He continued to talk about the Jet Ski for the next 3 hours while we were at the party, and continues to mention it even now. This experience confirms to me that Stryde is a crazy kid. He has no fear, and actually Dryver is concerned about Stryde. He always wants Stryde to be careful, which just eggs Stryde on to be less careful.

I will be interested to see how these guys grow up, and I am sure they will come to the middle in how they react to these types of situations, but I am sure enjoying this little life of watching their personalities. This is part of the fun of being a parent. I love to try and understand what is going through their minds and how they are feeling. I am very sensitive to both, but especially Dryver because I want to make sure he is confident and happy. I really am less concerned about Stryde, because he shows such confidence. I love these guys more than anything in the world, and want to make their lives as good as possible, in this terrible world.

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