Day 841 - "Hair" Today, Gone Tomorrow

Milestones tend to vary between children. 

For example, Ellie still struggles with nighttime potty training whereas her cousin has been 100% potty trained for at least a year. One can also consider how at Ethan's age, Ellie was a regular chatterbox with a pretty wide vocabulary. That doesn't mean that Ethan is slow by any means. It just means that Ellie surpassed him in that area. Ethan, however, began to walk and crawl long before his older sister did.

Of course, there is one major milestone that is always going to be different between boys and girls. The one to which I am referring is the first haircut. For Ellie, she's still waiting on that day to arrive. For Ethan though, that day finally arrived ten days ago on June 13. Sorry that I'm just now getting around to writing about it.

For the longest time, Bethany and I were extremely hesitant to cut Ethan's locks. For one thing, it was pretty cute to see the way they flowed all over the back of his head. They simultaneously had the ability to make us both laugh and say "Awww!" Unfortunately, they were becoming a nuisance to the little man as the way the curls stuck out from the side of his head made him look like some kind of mad scientist. They also made it so Ethan's hair was constantly a sweaty mess in the hot summer temperatures. Taking all of those things into account, Bethany and I finally decided the time had come for Ethan to get his first haircut. However, a simple trip to the barber wouldn't be in store for young Ethan. Instead, we were going to cut his hair ourselves!

Here's the point of the story where you can stop worrying about us using a sharp pair of Fiskars scissors on our baby's hair as that didn't happen. After all, we didn't want him to lose an ear or anything. Instead, we purchased a set of Wahl hair clippers complete with guards to keep us from cutting too short. Our reason for going this route was simple. For at least the next five or six years, Ethan won't care what his hair looks like at all. Therefore, as long as we can competently cut it and make it look nice, everything should be fine.

Once the big day arrived, we stripped Ethan's shirt off and placed him in a Bumpo seat sitting on one of our kitchen chairs. We also took a set of pictures so that we could remember both the before and after looks. After snapping the largest guard onto the clippers, I flipped on the unit and held it out for Ethan to touch and get accustomed to. For his part, he really didn't care anything about the clippers as he was much more interested in the cartoons we had pulled up on the iPad to distract him with. 

Finally, the time had come. I gently lifted up the back curls and proceeded to run the clippers through the locks. As they fell to the ground, one-by-one, I was amazed first by just how much hair there was on our floor. Secondly, I was amazed by how cute the little man looked. If anything, his long hair had looked worse than we realized. 

As I finished up Ethan's first haircut, Bethany and I were in agreement that he looked great. There was only one thing left to do and that was to commemorate the moment. First we snapped a pair of after shots. Then, the final step was to pick up some of the largest curls of hair to place in a Ziploc bag with the date on the front for safe keeping. After all, the nostalgic in me wants to be able to remember everything about our son's first haircut and look back and smile. Cute, right? #DaddyWrite

Day 836 - #SwingWrite

Hi, I'm a Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swing. That might be excessively specific so you can call me a swing if you would rather.

Up until a week ago, I was without a home. I lived in a giant box at a store called Sam's Club alongside many other Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swings. It goes without saying that is no way for a swing to live. Instead of dangling from a branch, my brethren and I were instead stacked vertically in a tight box with little to no sunshine bursting in. 

As the spring moved on and summer emerged in its place, I began to worry there would be no forever home for me. Fortunately I was mistaken. Finally the time came where a nice couple gently plucked me from my cardboard prison and lovingly placed me inside a cart. As they wheeled me to the checkout counter, I overheard them say, "Ellie is going to be so excited!". All I could think is "Who's Ellie?" and "I wonder if she'll like me."

After being purchased, I had grand dreams of immediate use. After all, everyone knows that the sole purpose of a swing, especially a Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swing, is to provide joy and love to all who sit upon it. It was obvious that I couldn't succeed in doing so while stuffed in the back of a car. Finally though, the day arrived. The couple who purchased me said it was time for me to be delivered.

After what seemed like an eternity, a man opened the trunk and picked me up. Then, holding me tightly under his arm, he climbed up a set of steps while a woman rang the doorbell. "Ding dong, ding dong." The door opened and I was carried inside where I finally laid eyes on her. It was my girl. The one called Ellie. 

The first thing I noticed was that she was much smaller than the couple that had purchased me. However, her excitement for me was much more palpable than any I had seen before. She continually peppered one of the taller people with words. "Daddy, can we swing now? Can we? I want to swing. Please?" That man began to carefully remove the packaging I came with and untied my hanging straps. This was it! The moment I had longed for was about to come. 

I was carried through a different set of doors and found myself outside again under a leafy green tree. The man carried me outside and stood on a step stool while wrapping my hanging straps around a branch. Once my straps were secure, he hooked my frame to them and gave me a quick push. I was flying! Then, before I knew what had happened, he jerked my rope and brought me to a sudden stop. I couldn't believe it. All of my longing and waiting to swing and it was squelched just like that. Then, I heard him ask, "Are you ready to swing, Ellie?" 

The little girl bounded across the grass and scampered up onto my steel frame. Then, she tightly wrapped her hands around my webbing while smiling at the man. Then, he gave us a push. This time though, there was no jerking of my rope. Instead, just consistent gentle pushes. Higher and higher we went, until finally, the pushes slowed and Ellie climbed off.

As the people headed back inside, Ellie turned to me and said, "We'll swing again, soon!". Since that day a week ago, Ellie and I have been inseparable. In fact, our time spent together can already be totaled in hours instead of minutes. Ellie isn't the only family member I've experienced a closeness with over the past week though. 

On that first night, a tall woman, the one Ellie called "Mommy," spent over an hour gently rocking back and forth on me while talking with a friend. She's since spent time rocking back and forth on my steel frame alongside Ellie and an even smaller child called Ethan. Speaking of Ethan, even though he's small in stature, he is quite loving. He even spent one afternoon fast asleep on my webbing as I gently breezed through the air. On one occasion, even the man Ellie called "Daddy" couldn't resist a brief ride at the insistence of her tiny pleas.

A week into life as Ellie's swing, this Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swing can hardly imagine life before my little girl and her family. In fact, I begin to wonder about the years ahead. With any luck, I'll still be in tip-top shape. Maybe a new rope or two will be in the cards but I have no intentions of abandoning my Ellie. My favorite thing to imagine is those quiet times that I'll hopefully share with Ellie a few years from now as she curls up in my webbing and reads a book as we gently rock back and forth. 

Until then, as Ellie says, I hope we have plenty of opportunities to "GO SUPER HIGH!!!"

#SwingWrite

Day 833 - The Curious Case of Doritos Flamas

Everyone has some kind of guilty pleasure snack that they are unable to turn down, regardless of the circumstances. For me, it's either a slushee or a big bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal. Both are big favorites of mine. Better yet, I know that both are safe. For the most part, I know what to expect when I take a sip of that fantastic, cold slushee or when I consume a tasty bit of those sugar-coated corn flakes. I can rest assured that I'm not going to be led astray by my cravings. 

For Ellie, she's always been able to feel the same way when it comes to her desired snack: chips. Chips are hardly what could be referred to as a dangerous snack. It's true that too many of them aren't good for your waistline, heart, or any other plethora of things. However, a person generally knows exactly what they are going to get when they bite into one. At least, that's what Ellie thought until today and her first bite of Doritos Flamas.

For the record, Bethany and I would never knowingly provide our child with something called Doritos Flamas. Just looking at the bag told us basically everything we needed to know about the product. However, the combination of fire, chili peppers, and limes on the front of the bag didn't dissuade Ellie in the least. She was not going to let anything stand in the way of her enjoying every last part of her free school lunch.

As Bethany and I had somewhat of an idea what the end result of Ellie eating Doritos Flamas would be, we decided to enforce the rule that she absolutely had to eat all of the other parts of her lunch before partaking of her chips. Lucky for us, Ellie did just that. I guess the call of chips was worth eating the rest of her lunch without complaint.

Finally, the time had come for Ellie to partake. Bethany cautiously opened the bag and took a look inside before thrusting it in my direction to take a peek. The deep red color was our first indication that Ellie was in for quite the experience. Of course, we chose to believe that the local schools wouldn't purposely feed our child something that was not fit for her little taste buds. I still believe that last statement is true, by the way.

Ellie reached inside the bag and grabbed the biggest chip she could find, opened her mouth wide, and took a big bite. Before we knew what had happened, Ellie spat an unchewed bite of chip out of her mouth onto her plate. Then, she started furiously trying to rub the taste off of her tongue in between screams. Finally, she calmed down enough to inform us the chips were much too hot and she didn't want to eat another bite ever.

Humorously enough, as I proceeded to finish off the bag, it didn't take long for Ellie's desire for chips to overcome her common sense. She finally asked for another chip only to experience the same result all over again. On a positive note, that would be the last time she would attempt eating Doritos Flamas...for this day at least. #DaddyWrite

Day 827 - The One Where We Jumped Out of a Plane

This blog exists mainly as an outlet for me to document and remember the important events in the lives of my kids. That being said though, there are definitely those occasional moments in my own life that either I just find really interesting or that I personally believe needs to be documented. An example of the latter would be last Friday when Bethany and I celebrated 10 years of marriage by jumping out of a plane.

Jumping out of a plane wasn't our first choice for celebrating our anniversary though. Last fall, Bethany and I began planning an anniversary trip to Maine and Prince Edward Island, Canada. Unfortunately, the current state of the world made that trip a no-go and we needed to find an alternative plan. 

Fast forward to last Wednesday when Bethany and I began brainstorming potential things to do on our actual anniversary. Somewhat flippantly, I suggested iFly, an indoor skydiving experience in Overland Park, might be fun. Once we discovered that iFly was still closed due to the pandemic, Bethany suggested that we should just do the real thing. 

After a little bit of research, we discovered that Falcon Skydiving, an elite skydiving team located in nearby Walden, was still open for business. Not only that, but they still had timeslots available for tandem dives on the morning of our anniversary. So, with great trepidation, we made our reservation and our plans were officially set. We would be celebrating our tenth (and hopefully not last) anniversary by jumping out of a plane.

Actually, here is the point where I need to specify that I was the one experiencing trepidation. After Bethany suggested skydiving, it took me 15 or 20 minutes to work up the nerve to even call and make the reservation. Once the big day arrived though, my trepidation kicked into pure nervousness and anxiousness. After all, if man were meant to fly, God would have given him wings, right?

Upon our arrival at the airfields, we were ushered into a back room to sign a litany of waivers. Seriously, it was four pages, front AND back. Then, we watched a video where the inventor of the tandem skydive proceeded to explain the waivers we had just finished signing while simultaneously letting us know everything that could go wrong. By the time that video ended, even the one that followed of a girl having an absolutely wonderful time skydiving couldn't calm my nerves.

Note the look of nervousness on my face compared to sheer elation on Bethany's.

After that, it was time to head back into the main waiting area and get in our harnesses for the jump. At this point, Bethany was sure to remind me that I didn't have to jump if I was too nervous or scared. That being said, I felt like I didn't have much of a choice. After all, I would have hated to live with the knowledge that I had wimped out and not gone skydiving. As I watched the first half of our group go up in the plane and jump out, I wish I could say my nerves lessened. That would be a lie though.

Before I knew it, the time had come for us to enter the plane. Following my tandem instructor, Will, onto the plane, I took my seat on a long bench directly in front of him so that he could link our harnesses together. During the long flight up to 14,000 feet, I found myself going through a repetitive cycle of prayer, asking lots of nervous questions, and anxiously looking out the clear door of the plane at the clear skies that lay just beyond the glass. Actually, it probably wasn't glass but that doesn't really matter.

As we got closer to our jump height, Will decided that we should definitely go first since I was more nervous than Bethany. Like any good instructor, he wanted me to get the experience I had paid for. Finally the time had come. We worked our way to the door with me kneeling on the floor in front of Will, my head leaned back against his shoulder, and my feet tucked up and nearly touching his behind. Then, before I knew what had happened, Will thrust the two of us out of the plane into the great unknown.

The first 60 seconds of our dive honestly exists solely as a blur in my mind. Most of what I remember is the epic amounts of air pressure, the complete and total inability to hear anything, clutching tightly to my harness, and just gazing at the horizon. In case you're wondering, if you look down, that can make you feel sick. Therefore, I followed Will's instructions and just looked at the horizon.

Before I knew it, Will began counting down in my line of sight, letting me know that he was about to pull the chute. I braced myself a little tighter, anticipating the sudden jerk that would accompany such a motion. As soon as the chute deployed, the ride became much, much different. It changed from one of thrill to one of a gentle, relaxing ride. In fact, it was so relaxing that Will had the opportunity to point out landmarks like KCI, downtown, and the Kansas Speedway. 

Of course, there was also time for a few more thrills on the ride down. Will allowed me to take control of the chute's navigational handles for lack of a better term and coached me in executing some flawless spins in order to scrub off height. By the time we were done, we had made four tight circles and were well on our way down. 

Finally, the time had come to land. Will had coached me that my job was solely to lift my legs up so that my body was in a 'L' position. The reason for that was simple; it would keep me from breaking an ankle. It would also make for an easier landing if we had to land on our backsides. Fortunately, landing on our backsides wasn't necessary as Will's experience from his 1,600 jumps more than made up for my total lack of experience. 

Look at that hair!!!

As soon as we landed, Will quickly detached me and I was hustled out of the landing zone by the "catchers." Once I reached the safe area, I looked up expecting to see Bethany following shortly thereafter. Little did I know I would be waiting a while. 

Despite her jumping out seconds after I did, Bethany and her instructor, Baglock, would be the last ones to land. That was primarily due to Bethany weighing so much less than myself and the other two tandem pairs on our flight. Bethany and Baglock struggled to scrub off altitude quickly and found themselves having to execute circle after circle after circle in order to get down. Unfortunately for Bethany, she tends to suffer from a little motion sickness when placed in situations with intense spinning. At least she didn't barf all over Baglock like his first tandem rider of the day did though. 

Once Bethany finally landed and got unhooked, I walked over and embraced her with a big smile on my face. It was over and better yet, it had been awesome! We had both made it down and checked off a really cool bucket list item in the process.

As we joined the rest of our jump group with our first jump certificates, I took a lot of pride in knowing I had conquered my fears  instead of letting them control me. Bethany meanwhile was just taking pride in having the ability to stand and/or walk without the room spinning. That and her having survived skydiving with an untested parachute as we learned post jump. Oops. #DaddyWrite