Yesterday was my son’s eighth birthday. Fortunately we celebrated on Sunday night because on Monday no one was really in the mood to celebrate. Its difficult to celebrate on a day of such tragedy. Although as a family we didn’t discuss the events, they were on everybody’s mind. My wife and I drove home together listening to the radio with little talking. Unfortunately we have been doing this type of a drive home too often in the past year. The Clackamas Town Center shooting that hit so close to home around Christmas, the Newtown massacre, and now another terrorist attack.
The boys are still contained in their little cocoons. For the most part we can insulate them from these types of news stories. Throw on Power Rangers and they forget about the world around them. We frequently distress that our boys never listen or pay attention but this is one time I am grateful that they don’t pay attention and can zone off into their own little worlds.
My oldest heard something about Newtown but didn’t follow too closely. We were thankful for his failure to listen or pay attention. He did ask what happened and my wife provided the best explanation she could. To paraphrase, she said that a bad man did something very bad. Not a whole lot more. He was off running, looking to tackle his brother.
When these events occur I look at my boys and think “they’re going to be exposed to these types of events their whole lives” and I feel sorry for them. At least we didn’t have 24 hour news coverage and Twitter growing up. If our parents wanted to keep information from us, they could. My oldest is learning about the wonders of YouTube in school – “did you know that we can watch baby lizards being born on the YouTube?” He’s only 8 and he’s learning that everything he wanted to know is just a click away. That’s scary as a parent.
I also look at the boys and thank my stars that I have these two wonderful boys and a loving wife and ask myself what can I do to make sure that I get the most out of them. I am lucky to have what I have. I think about what can I do to get the most out of those kids. How can I be more positive, yell less, and just be an overall better dad and husband? These are my thoughts, however, and not always the way I practice.
Regretfully, I get angrier than I should at stupid things, I make comments that I live to regret, and sometimes my actions are ridiculous. These tragedies make me rethink my attitude. I am very fortunate to have the family I have and should considered myself blessed everyday.