Enjoy the Ride

For those of you that have kids, you know that raising kids is pretty much central to your life. Some weeks are laid back, with the family all together, and enjoying life for the most part. Other weeks are more intense, with different kids or parents going different places and doing their own things. This past week was one of those "different places, different things'' kind of week. Thankfully there are two of us, so we divide and conquer. Maybe we don't always conquer, but we give it a good shot. We also have the advantage of having family and friends that aren't sharing a roof with any kids at the moment. Their support, whether it's a full investment or just asking the kids how their event went, really makes a huge difference in our kids lives when we can't be everywhere at once.

Our kids are all different to some degree. Aiyana is the oldest. She loves organized  sports or any kind of game for that matter. She is also a great organizer, just like her mother! And with a newly acquired license, she loves meeting up with her friends.

Caleb is a computer nut. Gaming and coding are his thing. He also loves being with his friends and playing pickup sports such as ultimate frisbee and volleyball, more so than being on an organized sports team. He would rather put his commitment into robotics or coding or building a new game.

Blake is the youngest. He's our musician. He loves playing the piano and beating out some great rhythms on his drum set. When he isn't doing that, he's probably editing a movie that he and his buddies are making. He loves sports as well, especially the pickup games. He's also my fishing buddy.

And since we are an outdoor family to some degree, all of our kids enjoy different aspects of getting out. Aiyana and Blake love chasing after the turkeys or the lazy canoe trip. Caleb is the meat hunter. He likes to get out there and get it done. When it's happening he loves it. He's usually at the head of the pack when we're hiking. When it's a waiting game he's ready to head for the house.

And with all of our different personalities, we sometimes get pulled in different directions. As parents we want to support and give guidance to each of our kids as they grow and follow their dreams. And because there are more of them than us we realize we can't be everywhere at once, but still try to do our best at supporting them as they grow into who God made them to be.

So this past weekend Blake had a piano recital at Penn Alps and Caleb was in the FTC Chesapeake Robotics Championship Tournament at Hampton Coliseum in Virginia Beach.

Jenelle held down the fort at home and took Blake to the piano recital. I took Caleb to Virginia Beach.

When we left Garrett County it was snowing and as we traveled down off the mountain, it was great to see springtime happening and the temperature rising. Before long the temperature was reading 60 degrees. We  stopped at Roy Rogers for some supper.  Not real long after getting to the resort we were staying at,  Caleb got a funny feeling in his innards. Whether it was funny food or some flu bug we weren't sure. The next thing we knew, everything on the inside came to the outside. Even his socks stretched tight, so to speak. And so began a not so memorable night. 

We weren't sure what the next morning would bring. Caleb really wanted to be the driver as this was his position on the team and what he had been training for, and this was a big event. It was decided that even though he was feeling weak, Caleb would drive the robot as long as he could.

And so the day started out. Match after match. The team did awesome! Again, a big part of that comes from having great coaches. And Phil Malone and Arlene Lantz are just that, great coaches! By the end of the day and just prior to the semi finals, we were sitting in the number one spot. Caleb was able to hang in there all day. Fortune shone on another team in the semi finals and we were disappointed that we missed making it to the World's in Texas by just a handful of points. On the other hand, the fact that out of eighty teams in the division, we were so close to making it to the World's is really impressive! And so after a good night of sleeping, Sunday morning was spent sharing a great breakfast and celebrating with the team. And the trip home was a good one. Just some good father/son time, talking about whatever, and listening to Caleb dream about the future, robots, gaming and coding.  And even though I'm really not into all of those things, I see their purpose. And I am so thankful that I get to be a part of it and to share in the joys of my son!

So, maybe it's not "divide and conquer". I'll go with "enjoy the ride"!