Seems like my daughter, Courtney, is primed and ready to head out on some road trips with me. Recently, she had her first mini-road trip to the Columbus Zoo and passed with flying colors. Of course, the trip wasn’t without its moment of panic. No, Courtney wasn’t the one who panicked. It was me.
The day started off well with the whole family, including Courtney’s aunt, uncle, and grandparents, following the Willis Trio in Ol’ Blue out to the zoo. Courtney couldn’t have been happier in the car and even seemed to enjoy the chaos that is the Columbus Zoo entrance in mid-summer. But while standing in line at the new polar bear exhibit, something strange happened. As I was relating to Courtney all the marvelous sights before her, she sighed heavily, rolled her eyes at me, and promptly went to sleep.
Now, I willingly admit that I haven’t been a father all that long, so there’s a lot for me to learn. For starters, there’s the fact that babies tend to get bored easily and drift off to sleep (except when they’re supposed to). Still, I couldn’t help but be struck by a sudden wave of sadness. Had my baby daughter, not yet two months old, already grown bored of my stories? Did I go from “cool dad” to “boring dad” in the blink of an eye? And if so, how was I ever going to get her to tolerate my weird road trips?
Rest assured, 30 minutes later, Courtney was awake and laughing at her dad sticking out his tongue and generally making an ass out of himself. All was right with the world again. Crisis averted…for now.
Sure, I know the day might one day come when Courtney outgrows strange and spooky things and refuses to join my wife and I on road trips. But for now, I plan on taking her on every road trip possible. I’m thinking Courtney might have her big debut at the Ohio Paranormal Convention later this August. Then, if all goes well, her first road trip to help her dad with his book at the end of August. From there, who knows where the road will take us. And hopefully, if I’m really lucky, one day, my grown daughter will look back on this blog years from now (in whatever shape or form it’s in) and smile. For if nothing else, I hope she sees how much I love her and the lengths I was willing to go to include her in my strange and spooky world.
