Flashback #2

Tis the week for memories!

As I watched my 2.5 year old son and 6 foot 2 inch husband chase one another from room to room to room with foam swords, reenacting scenes from the Power Rangers, equipped with donkey kicks, growls, shouts, screams and various and sundry martial arts-like moves, I remembered having similar fun with my dad.

My dad is a quiet man. I think he wanted boys, but he got two girls. We adored him then as we do now. So, it was no surprise that we followed him everywhere.

I was a tomboy, and so was absorbed with climbing trees, shooting rabbits, trying to set things on fire, and the like. My dad saw this in me. He would rough house with me and throw me in the air, toss a ball, take me fishing, go for walks in the woods or simply run around the yard with empty paper towel rolls screaming like Ninjas and chasing one another to their "dooooom!"

Well, as I said, I think he wanted boys, at least initially, but he found that after all the play fighting, fishing, and chasing was done, we girls would cuddle on the couch with daddy and a bowl of popcorn. I think it was then that he was glad he had girls. He could teach us to do all the things boys did, but snuggle with us and watch tv. He could dance through the yard with us, or throw pretend hand grenades over a pretend wall. He could have tea with us and then engage in a dirt bike race like no one has ever seen.

At times I wondered if he was content with girls, like when I ran into a tree with the dirt bike, or when I hit a tree with the trike, or when I rolled the dune buggy into a tree, or when I got my fishing line snagged in a tree . . . Yes, me and trees didn't go together well. He would laugh a hearty belly laugh and make some snide comment about boys having depth perception, etc . . .

Oh, and he didn't want me to get a big head so he teased me like he would a boy. One night, when I was about 6 or 7 he called me into his bedroom to tell me that he didn't think I was ugly (something he would say on occassion) or mean or nasty or silly or 'just a girl' and that he wanted me to know I was one of the most special people in the world. I, of course, already knew. I knew that his teasing was always in fun. It never, ever bothered me. But he was concerned with my "feminine sensibilities" and had to reassure me (or perhaps himself) that he loved me. Once he realised I was not bothered by the teasing, we ended the evening with a game of tag and some more teasing.

As I watch my son and husband enjoy their games, I am blessed to know that my son will grow up with a dad who loves him unconditionally. I know because my husband is like my dad was. Never too tired to play, never to busy to run, always ready to teach and always available for hugs.

Tonight I get to be the Yellow Ranger and my job, as it was explained to me by my young child, is to capture (daddy) Zeltrax at which point my son, who will be the Black Ranger will engage his brachiostaff (pronounced in my home as echostaff) to make (daddy) Zeltrax blow up! I can't wait!