Gone Fishing

For Christmas we bought Ayden a fish tank. He claimed for close to a year that he had wanted one and his mother and I had always kind of liked the idea. When we purchased our house the formal owners had a fish tank that Ayden thought was really cool. I think I may have mentioned it in a earlier post. In fact he liked it so much that when we moved in he thought the tank came with the house and was very disappointed that the tank had been removed.

His mother and I thought most likely at that moment, although unspoken, that a fish tank was in our future. To be honest I have always really enjoyed fish, but never wanted a tank. When I was younger we had a couple of small tanks. I remember how much work that was involved keeping them clean. We didn't have filters or anything close to what you can get now. I remember the horrible smell of a dirty tank and having to clean it. I remember that the fish would never last that long and they would die. I hated it. I guess you could say it's another horrible childhood experience, but that aside, I enjoy watching fish.

Ayden seems to really love his tank and has enjoyed naming all his fish. He has been influenced by the "Nemo" and "Cars"movies. He has used names "Nemo", "Sharkbait", "Luigi" , "Mator", "Dynaco" etc.

Well the first fish tragedy was caused by our power loss from our Ice storm. I think we froze the poor fish to death. We tried to take steps to save them, put ultimately they all died. We had six fish and one of them had 10 babies the night we brought them home so we had around 16 fish in total. I thought Ayden might take it hard but he has been great. He knows that they must be flushed down the toilet. He seems OK with it. He of course asks questions like "why do fish have to die" and we answer them as best as we can. He gets excited that maybe the fish will now get to visit Zakk in heaven. It's cute.

We have since replenished the tank and the new fish had seem to be doing great until this morning when we woke to a floating "Luigi". Ayden seemed to take it alright. He said "Hey Dad, "Luigi" is doing back flips when he's dead!"

If we all could just do back flips when we die. That would be something.

What do YOU call it?

I Love my Son.

I believe everyone is born with this inner voice within themselves. At certain times in a persons life this voice really guides them to make the decisions that must be made, to think and ponder the thoughts that must be pondered. I believe this voice is sometimes loud and clear while at other times so faint and distant that you really would swear it didn't exist.

Some people like to give this "voice" other names or might describe it in other ways like "trusting their gut" or "listening to their soul". Some may even go as far as calling it "God speaking to them" if they so desire. I believe that it really doesn't matter what you call it or how you describe it, as long as you listen. Always listen.

You must put pride to the side and sometimes even good common sense if your "voice" tells you different. You might even have to go out on a limb at times to follow the "voice". You could be called crazy or even stupid following that "feeling" with many names. I believe we are all installed with it and given this gift for reason and purpose.

So how do I teach Ayden to always, regardless of the circumstances, follow the "gift"?

To make a point in his life to always involve this inner "what ever you call it" in every decision.
No matter the size or importance of the decision. If the "voice" speaks, you listen.

To never let Love, Trust, or someones Word sway him from listening to "it" first.

To have him understand that at times when the voice could be the most help, it might be inaudible. Other times when the world might get in the way of a "shouting" voice, he must still listen to it regardless of the cost.

To drop any distraction that may come along to "follow the gut".

I never want to see my son hurt. I know it's going to happen more than once, but if I can avoid him enduring even the slightest pain, I will do what I must. Along a long list of things I hope I can show and teach him, trusting his "inner voice" will rank among one of the highest.

I Love my Son.

Getting Back To Normal

Well the Great Ice Storm Of 07 seems to be drawing to a close. Our family has been without power for the last 4 days. It looks like a tornado has touched down in our neighborhood with all of the damage created from the ice. It is amazing at the amount of damage that our city has experienced.
Ayden has handled the situation like a trooper. For his age he has done great not having anything to do and not having anything but a gas fireplace to keep him warm. Our family has not traveled far from the fireplace located in the living room for the last few days and each one of us have experienced burnout being so close to eachother for so long. It has been tough at times to keep Ayden under control with him being cooped up for so long, but we have survived and seeing how he has handled the situation once again makes me a proud father. More on the storm later.

A real ladies man....

What can I say? He's got skills. A real chick magnet. This is Ayden's friend and school mate Rachel. One of many girls that seem to gravitate toward Ayden. Im not sure where he gets his charm since his dad never had much luck in the department, but I am proud regardless.

Happy New Year

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

I look forward to getting back to the blog and keeping it up to date. I have no excuses except I have been very very busy. Ayden is growing each and every day and I look forward to showing his world again to the masses. Ayden will never let me run out of material.