Did you ever have something that you have really wanted to try, but after so much anticipation and waiting your excitement turned into uncertainty?
Uncertain that you would be able to do it.
Uncertain it would be as awesome as you thought it would be.
Well, that was Aiden a few days ago.
Introduction
Since we have moved to the Coastal Virginia area (apparently this is the correct way to refer to this area we now live in), we have had some pretty awesome moments. To be honest, we have had some pretty awful moments as well, so this isn’t all beaches and adventures here. Just keeping it real, people!
Anyway…we have had some great moments that have confirmed to us why we chose to move here. One of those days came not too long ago.
Since Carissa hasn’t started her job yet, we have been trying to do things with the boys as often as we can. The other day we wanted to go to the beach, but we didn’t really want to get into all the swimsuits and towels and that whole circus. We wanted to keep it simple and enjoy the beach.
So, we decided we would head to the beach, it was about 6p, and let the boys try flying kites for the first time.
Now, several months ago, Carissa’s parents (the boys call them Memere and Pepere because they have French Canadian roots) sent the boys kites. They were actually a craft and an activity because the kites were blank canvases the boys could color and draw on, and then put together and send them into the heavens.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t been able to get the kites out since we had received them, but they had luckily found their way into the RV instead of the storage unit, so, we decided it was time to decorate the bad boys and see how they flew!
Little Artists
I am not much of an artist. I can draw a killer Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, though. Actually, I can only draw from the neck up, when I start drawing arms and stuff it gets a little…we will say, distorted.
Carissa on the other hand is a very good artist. It is actually in her family. Here Grammy on her Mom’s side did many wonderful painting pieces, her mom as well has done some great pieces, and Carissa has followed in their footsteps. She is actually very humble about it and thinks she isn’t very good, but I love it when she paints and I try to sneak some of her pieces on the walls whenever I can.
She has desperately tried to add this to our family fun times. once we all painted garden pavers for a walkway in our flower garden. The flower garden was a bust, but that little patch of weeds had a beautiful path of pathers thanks to the ‘Party’koopers!
Anyway, this particular night was another opportunity for the boys to try their skills at drawing something on their kites. So, they went to work drawing all kinds of wonderful things…dragons, their names, crocodiles, and other scary things that belong on kites.
Emerson felt his kite was pretty good just as it was…a blank white canvas. But, Carissa expertly convinced him it needed a little something. And that is exactly what he did. Drew a little something.
After about 20 minutes of laying on the ground outside the RV drawing on their kites, it was time to head to the beach and see if these babies could fly.
We Have Liftoff
We piled into the van and headed to the beach. Now, there are two beaches here that we have tried out. There is the main beach where all the tourists go, where the boardwalk is, and is located for easy access from the main part of the Coastal Virginia area.
Then there is Sandbridge Beach, which is located south of the main city area. This beach is lined with houses, not really any businesses except a couple of surfshops, an ice cream parlor, and one store/restaurant. It is what you would expect from a small beach town. Charming as can be with houses that are more expensive than you can imagine, and a place that could be a setting in a book. As someone from the Midwest, this area is what I would imagine as a quiet beach escape.
This is where we decided to go to launch our kites. Fewer people, more families, and lots of space to let the boys learn how to fly.
As we carried the kites out past the big sand dunes that separate the rest of the world from the peace and tranquility of the ocean, you could see the boys’ excitement growing. At least Isaiah and Aiden. Emerson, most of the time, is just excited to be along for the ride and see what we are about to do. He could see the boys were excited and so he was too.
We got out onto the sand and realized it was a perfect night for kite flying. It was a very mild temperature with a strong wind coming off the ocean. It wasn’t too strong, but certainly strong enough to hold a kite up with little difficulty. It was time to hand the boys their kites and let them send them off into flight.
I helped Aiden first get his kite off the ground. I showed him how to hold the handle with the string, how to slowly let the string unwind to lift the kite higher and higher into the air, and then I handed it to him. It was great watching him take the kite from me and let it catch with wind and start swinging back and forth. You could see the excitement grow in his eyes as he realized two things.
First, he realized it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be.
Second, he realized how fun it was to be in control of something that was flying high above his head.
Once he had the kite in the air and under control, he took off running down the beach to give himself room to explore and see what all he could do with the kite.
Meanwhile, Carissa had gotten Emerson up and running. But, not before he tore his shirt off and stopped short of pulling his shorts down. I missed it, but Carissa told me later that as soon as he saw the water he started saying, ‘Beach! Beach! I go swim!’ Again, she expertly convinced him to leave his shorts on but he could keep his shirt off.
In the end, his reaction to the whole event was one of anticlimactic boredom. He had fun getting the kite up, but to look at him, his demeanor was more like, ‘so, what’s the big deal here.’
Then there was Isaiah. After getting Aiden set up, I helped Isaiah get his kite. Isaiah was nervous because he didn’t think he could fly a kite. I reassured him that he would be very good at doing it and it wasn’t that hard.
Like I did with Aiden, I showed Isaiah how to hold it, how to give it more string, and how to keep it flying if it started to take a dive. Then, I handed him the kite and handle, and helped him get it into the air. Once he had it in his hands he started jumping up and down with excitement as he controlled it in the air.
The boys loved the kites and it was an unexpected highlight for all of us. To see all the boys so excited and having so much fun flying their kites on the beach as the sun set and painted the sky with beautiful colors was wonderful. As a Dad, I loved it. The boys each had something they could steer, something they could guide through the winds, and something that was their own.
‘It Wasn’t As Hard As I Thought’
For Aiden, it was maybe one of the most impactful moments so far here. Mainly because he came into the evening with a lot of anxiety about flying a kite. Neither Carissa or I knew that he was anxious about it, but afterwards he told us that we was worried he wouldn’t be able to fly it and that it would be hard and he would get frustrated.
Aiden is a bit of a perfectionist, as is often the case with first borns, and he is really hard on himself. Doesn’t help having a first born Dad who is also a perfectionist. Sometimes I feel like I just have to apologize to him for it. But, he can be pretty hard on himself when he isn’t able to do things at the level he expects himself to be able to do them. His concerns about being able to fly the kite wasn’t about whether or not he would have fun, but more about whether or not he would be able to do it well.
I was proud of him for trying it, even though he was apprehensive and nervous. And, out of all three boys, he had the most fun. Over and over again he keep saying how awesome it was. He thanked Carissa and I so many times for bringing them to fly kites, and he just kept smiling through it all.
Conclusion
It all made me wonder, how many times do I allow my uncertainties, or my concerns about the unknown, hold me back from trying something new…or trying something again. If Aiden had allowed his anxiety about being able to fly a kite keep him from trying, he would have missed out on maybe one of his best memories.
God opens up so many doors, gives us so many opportunities, and provides us with more excitement than we can handle. It is our fears and concerns that hold us back from having everything he wants for us. I learned a great lesson from Aiden that day, and had a wonderful memory with this crazy crew of ‘Party’koopers.
