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August 2007
One foot in front of the other
Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking out the door
Those words not only grace millions of televisions each Christmas season as folks watch “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” but they are also the words that echo through my head every day as I watch my daughter maneuver around our home.
Each day, she takes a few more steps. And each day, I get another chance to giggle. Nothing is more amusing than seeing her moving faster and faster until she finally plops to to the floor. My wife at times looks at her and asks, “Does your brain know what your legs are doing?” Sometimes you have to wonder.
Now, this walking thing does bring with it times of angst. She doesn’t always pick the best locations to do her falling. Bumps and bruises come with the territory in learning to walk, but I didn’t know I was going to get some of them. It seems she likes to land on my legs when she falls. I bruise and she looks up and laughs. But I guess that is all part of growing up dad.
I will say that one of the good things about her walking is I now can keep up with her. She had become quite proficient at crawling. In fact, I was thinking of seeing if she could qualify for a NASCAR short track event she was moving so rapidly. The walking is taking her pace down a notch - but I know that won’t be for long.
So, as she puts one foot and front of the other, I try to move along with her to keep her from hitting those things that are bit harder than good, old dad. I just hope that we keep to walking across the floor for a while, before she is walking out the door. I am not sure I am ready for that yet.
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Dad needs Red Bull
It gives you wings!
This is what the makers of Red Bull proclaim about their energy drink. And if this advertising campaign is true, sign me up for a year’s supply.
Recently, I had the pleasure of keeping my daughter by myself for a week while my wife was out of town. I certainly could have used those wings and anything else Red Bull had to offer. I couldn’t keep up with my daughter to save my life. Room to room she traveled with me lagging behind. And as the day got longer, her advantage become larger. It was like an elephant trying to chase down an Olympic sprinter.
Now, I am not sure what it is in the chemical makeup of a child that gives them all that energy, but bottling and selling it would make someone a fortune. Red Bull would have to go past its wings promotion and move on to warp speed. From the time she woke up until she went to bed, it was like my daughter was hooked up to a double-dosing Red Bull IV.
I did what I could to keep up - from an extra Coke Zero a day, to more coffee, to eating more chocolate. I thought the caffeine and sugar rush would help. No luck, she kept going like the Energizer bunny and I puttered behind like an old Model T. What’s a dad to do?
So, to the makers of Red Bull, if you can promise me your drink will help me chase my daughter from room to room for 12 hours a day, I am sold. If not, please make sure your drink doesn’t get into the hands of my daughter because I will definitely be in trouble if she adds wings to her arsenal.
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