To That One Dude

Last weekend when my family was down for a visit, a friend of my brothers came to spend the day with them. I’m sure he thought it was going to be a “him & them” situation, but it quickly turned into a “him & all of us” situation. Now, I only see this guy maybe once a year. And we basically get along by insulting each other until one party is leaving, and then it’s a wave goodbye followed by “See you around asshole.” -- His words. And that’s just how we roll. This time around was no different. And I'm actually pretty proud of how creative we are getting at our insult delivery. However, I’ll give credit where credit is due. And today, since I know he’ll never read this, I just wanted to say thanks.

It’s no secret that family life has not always been smooth sailing for us. This is why I’m happy to have so many strong, positive, people in my daughter’s life for the times that we fall short. It’s also no secret that sometimes our daughter is interested in things that we either hate, don’t always have time for, or have no knowledge of whatsoever. This is why I’m really grateful to have help. When Emery started showing interest in archery I was clueless. If I’m being honest, I still am. When she wanted to try her hand at it I was able to turn to my brother & sister-in-law for help in teaching her. When she wanted to learn, and play soccer my dad was able to spend some time teaching her what he knew. Now, he even plays against her when he gets off from work. When she wants to get all arts, and crafty my mom steps up to the plate with countless projects they can create. She also has a whole section of their house dedicated to that space for her. So, I’m pretty lucky, I know.

Now, what some people don’t know is that the past few weeks have been a little rough for us. And this past weekend we were finally able to take a step back, and just take a break. Enjoy family time. On Sunday however, once the sun started to go down, we were all a bit preoccupied with getting our family members ready for the road trip back home. And this friend, who had already been entertaining my daughter’s demands for thumb wars, and piggy back rides earlier that day at the flea market, stepped up without complaint. Now, it could be that he tolerated it all pretty well since he doesn't have to deal with it on a daily basis. Or maybe that's why my grandmother kept telling my daughter to quit pestering him? For fear that it would scare him away?  But, he went on every bicycle race that he was challenged to. He played catch wearing a kid sized glove, and chased after baseballs that went over the road or across the field. He played soccer, and “you can’t catch me”. Over, and over again. I mean, I won’t lie, there were instances where even I was thinking “Okay, now this is just getting annoying.” But he went along with it. And my daughter thought he was just the coolest kid ever.

So, thanks, jerk face. Thanks for hanging out, and playing games with my seven-year-old. Thanks for not complaining when she got really annoying, and almost choked you out as you let her climb onto your shoulders for the third time in a row. Thanks for teaching her how to throw a baseball, and hold her glove so she wouldn’t get hit in the face. Though if you had let that happen, your torture would have been over much sooner...just saying. Thanks for keeping her entertained so my dad, and brother could work on the truck. And, thanks for playing some weird version of soccer/kickball with her while I was getting my last little bit of snuggle time in with my nephew. But mostly, thanks for just giving her some of your time. I’m sure it wasn’t how you had hoped your day would go, and I’m sure there were other things you would have rather been doing. But to her, it meant a lot that you paid attention. So…thank you.

Now, in the slight chance that you ever come across this post: This…changes nothing, and even though I appreciate your kindness to her you’re still kind of a dick. And the next time you over estimate my age by ten years, make fun of the gray hair coming in, point out a new forehead wrinkle, or critique my “elbow game” while eating pizza I will throat punch you. Comprendes? Okay, good.