As an adult, ask yourself some of the first questions one
hears when meeting a new friend. Don't worry, I can wait while you do so. Just
don't take as long as it did for the old lady in 'Titanic' to see the ship
again.
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| Since what? Since you wouldn't make room for Leo on the big wooden door? |
I'm guessing one of the first things to come to mind was
something along the lines of "What do you do for a living?". For me,
I generally receive two very different reactions when I answer that question.
Number one is something kind of like "That's really cool!" (generally
comes from other parents). Then, there's the other reaction of "Really?
Don't you ever get bored?". In case you're wondering, that response
typically comes from single guys without kids.
I bring this up because the truth is that I really do get
bored from time to time. I'm not the only one who gets bored though as Ellie
suffers from the same problem. In fact, in a quest to add excitement to her
life, she's been apt to hand deliver her shoes to me in hopes then gets to go
on an adventure. Lucky for Ellie, today was one of those days she got to go on
an adventure without even asking.
A handful of times a year, my dad will ask me to come up to
Savannah for the day and help him work cattle for the day. Today was one of
those days for me. In this instance, we were weaning a set of spring calves. If
one of these days occur during the week, it means Ellie gets to spend the day
with her dear old granny (and her great grandma to boot).
Obviously Ellie has been to her grandparents' house on
plenty of occasions but there were some firsts on this trip. The most important
first I speak of is that Ellie now has the ability to freely move about on two
legs. Therefore, there was plenty of new experiences for her to have. As soon
as we arrived, I started by putting Ellie's socks and shoes back (yes, back) on her feet before
removing her from the car seat. Once the last strip of velcro was secured, I
plopped Ellie down on the driveway. I then grabbed her little hands and began
slowly walking towards the front door.
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| I'm glad 'The Simpsons' taught me how to work the velcro on Ellie's shoes... |
As we opened the door and headed inside, I let go of Ellie's
hands to allow her to explore freely. As she toddled about the house, making
endless laps around the kitchen and living room, it didn't take her long to
find something that truly caught her gaze. Something that wasn't so much a
something as a someone. That "someone" I refer to is Sammy, our cat.
As soon as she saw him, Ellie was completely mesmerized.
There she stood, happily pointing at Sammy and excitedly declaring
"ha" (her form of "hey, look at that"). At this point, I
picked up my daughter and slowly made my way across the kitchen so as to not
scare Sammy away. Once he let us approach, I knelt down with Ellie in my arms
and began gently scratching his head. Grabbing Ellie's hand, I began using it
to gently stroke Sammy's head.
While Sammy was plenty affable, it didn't take him long to
tire of Ellie before seeking so-called higher ground where she couldn't reach
him. With that, I then released my daughter, allowing her to explore to her
little heart's content.
All of this makes me think how crazy it is that there are
still plenty of firsts for Ellie to be had even with a year of life in the
books. If that's the case, then surely I won't get bored as long as I keep
finding ways to embrace the new experiences, right?
Or, you know, if I do, then it'll just make the "Really,
don't you get bored" crowd right. Somewhat appropriate since that used to be me. #DaddyWrite
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