A family walk at night

Spending time with my family is quite likely the most important part of my 500 words and often it’s the unplanned and simple things that we do together that mean the most to me.

Last night, my wife decided she was going to go for a 20 minute walk and the kids quickly included themselves in the trip. I’m back on a morning walking routine, so I thought about using this time to do something else, until my son said, “Daddy, please come?” and I realized that my priorities were out of whack.

The kids love being outside at night and my son especially loves to ride his bike in the dark, so he was quick to put on his helmet and get a head start on the walkers. My daughter decided to walk with us, but also wore her iPod, which meant she yelled instead of speaking to us.

My son rode his bike out of sight, causing my daughter to turn to us and scream, “HE SHOULDN’T BE RIDING THAT FAR AHEAD OF US INTHE DARK!” which was the exact mix of sweetness and bossiness toward her brother that has become her trademark.

Unannounced, my wife broke into a jog. My daughter started to giggle, but it was entirely too much for my son who burst into laughter at the sight of his mother running! There’s nothing at all funny about the way she runs, but I suppose they just haven’t seen it before and found it hilarious. It’s never easy being mommy!

Halfway through our walk, my son decided he didn’t want his bike anymore and asked if I would carry it the rest of the way. I decided some time ago that carrying children’s bicycles is one of my least favourite things to do and declined the invitation. He wasn’t happy, but I felt he needed to live with his decision. Within seconds the disappointment had faded.

On the way back, my son made up a game where he would ride his bike up to me and we would bash our fists together as he passed, both of us making the sound of an explosion. He called it “giving me props,” and I’d have to have a lot more street cred to know whether that’s actually the proper label for our bike game.

Along the way, I thought about the great time we were having, getting outside on a perfect fall evening, and all of it hadn’t cost us a dime!

My wife and daughter had settled into a nice walking pace while Mr. Props and I and our exploding fists walked on ahead. As it appeared we would beat “the girls” home, we crossed the road to add a little time to our trip.

We clearly added too much distance and it looked like my wife was going to beat us into our driveway. My son said, “Daddy, you’ve got to beat her!” and I didn’t want to let him down, so I broke into a ridiculous version of speed walking. It wasn’t going to be enough, but I had another gear left and found myself in a full sprint for the final 50 yards.

Ducking under the tree branches that nearly touch down on my front yard, jumping out from a shadow to bound over the steps, I reached the door just ahead of my wife and declared victory.

Only then did I hear the kids behind me, doubled over with laughter.

And there was something different about their laughing this time.

They were laughing at me.