Time With the Boys

There’s no doubt that Father God has a sense of humor. One sure sign of this is the fact that I was blessed with twin sons at the age of 44 years. Having lived a rather rowdy existence I was somewhat “stove up” yet still full of spit and vinegar and  quite capable of the physical trial that lay before me. I can sometimes be more than a little cranky about the whole affair though.

They are 14 years old now. Often I find that I am somewhat critical of what I perceive to be their lack of a work ethic and a general teenage aversion to chores and the duties of life.

School is out and their mother needed the house for a client so I offered to take them to work with me. I figured I would teach them a couple of things and let them experience the down and dirty trench warfare that self employed entrepreneurial endeavor can encompass. I also figured that I would get little accomplished during this educational experiment.

As I showed them the ropes I noticed they were calm and absorbed seeming to take it all in. It was 95 degrees of oppressive heat so of course I would have enjoyed a little more enthusiasm but I could in no reasonable way complain.

Eventually we took some photos and loaded them to the hard drive of my computer. As I went to explain they would complete the tasks before I could finish. At one point there was a mistake where I would usually begin all over and go through and entire process. They quickly resolved the issue and moved on. One wise sage of the two can seldom fail to remind his “Pops” that only dinosaurs struggle with such evolutions and that their abilities are simply par for the modern course.

Their mother came and picked them up at mid-afternoon. After they left I was a bit chagrined and found myself yearning for their presence. I reviewed the half days work and realized that though a little behind I was by no means lacking in the days work needs and that they had been quite a bit of help. They had also learned at a remarkable clip though an employee had suggested I was giving them too much information at one time.

I sat at my desk looking out the window, as I am periodically prone to do and found that I was in an emotional state. Memories flooded my mind’s eye as I bathed them in their basinet and swung them in circles grasping under their armpits. We would laugh insanely as I placed them on their tiny feet and they would careen into a face plant onto the soft summer grass.

I pushed the small bicycles with training wheels hoping and praying they would not fall and get a nasty strawberry as a result of Daddy’s insistent encouragement. I watched them toddle onto the huge orange bus, more backpack than child, in the early dark of pre-dawn and remembered feeling much the same way that I feel in this moment staring out the window.

Yeah … old Father God sure has a sense of humor. I can’t help but wonder what his next joke’s going to be?