The Grab
By Ray Shay 
I probably owe an apology to the amazing principals and teachers who are doing a great job of educating our three sons. Schools are vitally important, but it also feels like our children are under constant pressure to perform.
When I was a kid, right or wrong, school was almost an afterthought. Priorities were baseball, football, and wandering in the high desert looking for horny toads and other critters. Those quick moving toads looked so prehistoric, it was cool when we finally got our dirty little hands around one of them.
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| Disneyland Bound |
I recognize our children are much smarter at a younger age than we ever were. Last week, I handed our fifth grader Ryan, some homemade lasagna on a plate. He looked at me with a perplexed look and said, "Dad, lasagna is supposed to be in chunks. This is liquefied."
I started laughing as I thought of him using such an advanced word. I then looked around to make sure mom did not hear his culinary description of her dinner.
We often see our two older sons work from sunset to late in the evening on their studies. I agree it is important that they are challenged in order to compete in the future, but I sometimes think they need a break.
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| Ryan and Logan |
That is the reason for my apology. Once or twice a year, I tell our children they will be sacrificing perfect attendance in school to spend a day with our family. Since horny toads and the pristine high desert are not right out our back door, I took, "Mr. Liquefy" and a friend to Disneyland this past week.
It had been years since we had been to Disneyland and since Ryan is our third son, we certainly do not have a season pass. The curse of being born last. For most of the day, I felt guilty we had not brought him sooner. It felt like he was all grown up.
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| Pirates of the Caribbean |
When Ryan was younger he used to be scared to go on, "Pirates of the Caribbean." As is our custom, we waited to ride in the front of the boat.
As we began the slow float down into the cool darkness, we could here the spooky mantra from the skeleton skull hanging above the entrance, "Dead men tell no tales."
As our raft began to tilt to slide into the dark and cavernous adventure, I felt Ryan's little hand grab a portion of the sleeve of my t-shirt. He then pulled it tight as the boat slid down the incline into the start of the pirate battle. His hand then quietly slipped away.
Though Ryan did miss a day of school, it gave us both a badly needed break and the chance to enjoy a special moment together. I was also able to experience a very special grab. It was not like holding a weird looking horny toad, but it was one I would have likely never enjoyed, if I would have waited another few months until he was out of school.
Enjoy your week,
Copyright Shay Realtors 2015 All Rights Reserved
