The week after Mothers' Day was an amazing week for me and my boys. It was that busy "last week of class" for the Spring Semester, so I was not planning on one of the events that we shared, and dreading the other.
The Brick Armory:
One of my students who is in both the clubs I advise has a membership to a local gun range. As a member of the armed forces, he also has several weapons of his own. He has regularly invited me to come with him and the other students, but they always went in the evening (which is family time for me.) He said the family could come, but I've never taken the initiative to plan it. Well, Wednesday (5/12) he reminded me yet again. I called my wife to see if the boys and I could go (somewhat hoping she would give me an excuse not to go.) Well, she didn't. In fact, it worked out perfectly for her evening plans - so off to the gun range we went!
When we got there, neither of the boys wanted to shoot. I took a couple of turned with the .22 pistol before my younger son decided he wanted a turn. He went right to it! He didn't miss his turn the rest of the night. My older son remained resistant (he even got teary when I suggested that he could have a turn if he wanted one) so I didn't push the idea. Eventually, he saw how much his brother liked it and decided it was OK to try. Once he got the pistol in his hand, though, he began to loosen his grip finger by finger (I was holding it too for the first attempt.) I finally convinced him to just try one shot before he gave up. He did. And then he took another...and another...and another! He quickly emptied the clip and told me how excited he was for his next turn. The rest of the night the two boys took turns with the .22 pistol. They even named the target ("Mr. Deadman") and did a fine job making the name fit. My older son was able to understand the concept of aiming and did the better job of recognizing some of the technique of shooting (two years does make a difference!)
I got to try a couple of other guns. My favorite was the 9mm rifle. Using it, I finished off whatever was left of Mr. Deadman. In the end, both the boys want to go back for another night at the gun range.
Fathers & Sons:
OK, this was the one I knew about but was dreading. I hate camping. The only things that makes camping fun are family (like the Weston reunions) or condos (like East Canyon - maybe a houseboat like Lake Powell.) In this case I didn't see either. My boys are family, of course, but not in my "camping fun" family. They don't sit around the campfire telling old family stories while smoking, drinking coffee and cussing - that's the family I remember as fun. And where can you really "camp" in New Jersey?
Well, we didn't go to a real campsite, but that turned out for the best. We stayed on a large grassy patch in the middle of a "forest-type" area. The boys and I got there with two adult sleeping bags and a 3-man tent. They had their pjs, but no other change of clothes. Ten minutes after we got the tent set-up and loaded, it started pouring rain. We had coordinated dinner with the other fathers/sons from our ward, so that went smoothly, but we were soaked. Fortunately, the rain stopped early enough that the bonfire could be built and we could dry ourselves while we roasted marshmallows for smores. After the fireside, we went to sleep. I had neglected to bring a pillow, but we all slept well. The boys enjoyed the big breakfast in the morning and we left by 8:30. Although my oldest was carsick on the way home, we are all looking forward to next year. We have a list of changes we need to make:
1. Bring an extra set of clothes for everyone.
2. Bring ponchos
3. Each boy gets his own adult sleeping bag (so daddy need a new one)
4. Bring a foam mattress, not air (I forgot to mention that the air mattress had a hole in it and was completely flat by midnight!)
5. Bring a pillow for daddy.
After that week I have come to appreciate my boys a lot more. They are really fun to be with. Any time they aren't, it is normally my fault. Like anything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. I am trying to put more into my relationships with my family. They really are worth it.
I just hope that I am worth it too,
Brad
