Young At Heart

Being a father has interesting affects.

Some days I have never felt quite so old. I am only 23, yet I am nearly constantly tired...a feature I have noticed goes hand-in-hand with being the parent of a toddler. I also don't bother getting dressed up for most things...Sheri and I managed a date the other day for our Anniversary (thanks Becka!) and it was the first time when it wasn't for church that we got moderately snazy looking. And dates come with increasingly less frequency. Money is almost not a concern; we don't have the time. Dates, real dates, where we go out by ourselves and do whatever we like...those happen maybe once every 4 months or so. I want to change that rule though...our last one revived us so much we were amazed.

There are those days.

Then there are other days.

Some days I haven't felt this truly young since I was, well, young. When I could do anything physically, when my time was my own (provided home work was taken care of) and when there were still fresh wonders to be discovered in this old world. I remember hanging off the back of a Jeetney, relishing the feel of the wind and singing, or walking on the shores of beaches around the world and looking out at the horizon and trying to understand the immense power of nature while playing in the waves. I remember visiting zoos and aquariums for the first time, seeing animals that were strange and wonderful, like tigers, exotic birds and sharks.

And as I watch my son grow, I taste these experiences again.

His latest delight is birds. He loves birds. Whenever we leave the house he immediately turns his gaze to the sky and points at the birds flying overhead. His clear, high voice joyfully recognizes them as "Ba!" and his eyes are full of the light of life as he traces their flight across the sky. He'll hold his hands together and swing from side to side because his exhilaration is too much to contain.

The other day, some sparrows that had made their nest in the awnings of our apartment building were having a big day. Their hatchlings were learning to fly. One of them was on the ground as Aiden and I came home. We came to see what was going on. The young sparrow couldn't quite fly yet, so he hopped around trying to avoid the large intruders. We watched him for a moment, and Aiden couldn't stop smiling and whispering his secret to himself "There's a BIRD right there and its not flying away!!!" At least, that's what it sounded like to me.

My son keeps me young even as he makes me feel and, in truth, grow older.