One on One

Last weekend while my older kids were either babysitting, having sleepovers, at the movies, or celebrating the "tweens" at a Beehive/Deacon party, Reef was getting some special one on one time with his Dad.

They started out by heading to one of Dad's favorite surf spots and paddling out into the line-up. Reef was stoked about catching two waves. He not only loves the liberating feeling of heading down the line on his own board but he loves the adventure of the fall and trying to outpaddle the larger sets that roll through. This kid will get rumbled and come up to the surface smiling. I've seen it with my own eyes. The only thing that keeps me from pacing the floors nervously until they return to dry land is the fact that I have complete and utter faith in the man that I married and his respect and knowledge of the ocean. I've seen him take a mild beating himself to make sure that his little ones are safe in the water. He's right next to them at every paddle, every drop-in, every duck dive, and he's beaming from ear to ear. Remember this post? Well, I believe my kids are starting to form their own love for the ocean and for the sport of surfing.

After surfing it was off to watch the Cold Water Classic surf contest and try to spy some professional surfers. Reef got some head nods and smiles from a few recognizable contestants. This kid is not shy and I'm pretty sure if he was given the chance to speak to any of these guys he would have asked them all about why they love to surf, how old they are, what their name is, if they have kids, why they have so many tattoos, and if they think they're a better surfer than his dad. (Because, let's face it, when you're a kid, NOBODY is better than your dad at ANYTHING.) And that's exactly as it should be.

Reef's got a personality that never quits. It's a whole other entity in and of itself. He's also a very deep thinker. He will ask me things like, "Will this dead cow that I'm eatting get resurrected?" "Jesus created the world, right? Well then does that mean he invented cigarettes, too or did Satan do that?" "If somebody kidnapped me would you jump in the car and crash into the kidnappers car to save me.... or would you get a gun out of Dad's gun safe and shoot a bad guy if they were trying to hurt our family?" He is obsessed with "hobos" right now and asks me funny things like if hobos eat fruit , how people become hobos, if hobos are mean to their brothers and sisters. He can handle himself in social situations like no other 6 year old I've ever seen. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes not. He keeps me on my toes physically and mentally.

While at the contest they got to go inside a video game and be an actual part of the game. I still am a bit confused on the details of this but they both assured me it was a pretty cool experience. Coming from two people who are not "gamers" I don't know if they fully appreciated the opportunity or if it was kind of lame and they just don't have much to compare it to. No matter what the case may be, I love the look on Reef's face in the picture below. It tells me that this precocious little boy that I love is just that.... a little boy.

Next up was meeting Ward Coffey, the shaper who is making Brandon's new, custom surfboard (early Christmas present). He talked this guys ear off and Ward ate it up. I think they talked about everything under the sun except for politics. Reef still confuses the names Osama and Obama so that's probably for the best. (We don't really bring up either of those names in our house, anyway.) Reef got to see how surfboards are made and learned about different board shapes and styles.

They had a fun-filled day and I do feel the tiniest bit as if I missed out. But I know that these one on one moments are important and to be honest I think that the dynamic of the day would have changed with a mom tagging along. All in all, I think if you asked them, both father and son would say that this was the best 'playdate' that either of them have had in a long time.