What was the dumbest thing you did this summer? I'll go first.
If you have read any of my previous posts, you have probably noticed that I tend to write quite a bit about my successes in the classroom and with my own children. However, in my "real life" it is exactly the opposite. I spend far more time making fun of myself than I do celebrating my successes.
Don't worry, my self esteem is doing just fine. I don't think my multiple failures make me a "loser". Quite on the contrary. Not only do screw ups provide me with valuable lessons, they also inspire some of my favorite stories to tell. I love to laugh. I also subscribe to the motto that if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
Luckily, it seems I have an endless supply of motivation for some good old fashioned self deprecating humor. Even better is that fact that I cannot possibly forget any of these stories... because my daughter reminds me of them every damn day!
This weekend, as we were leaving our local pool, my 11 year old daughter MJ said, "Do you know what I think of every time I see an inflatable shark?"
This is not the actual shark. In fact, I don't know why this exact shark exists. What the hell are you supposed to do with a giant inflatable shark?
There was no need for her to go on.
We all knew exactly what she thinks of.
She thinks of the absolutely stupidest thing I (or probably any dad) did this summer.
Earlier this summer, my family took a trip to California. We had an absolute blast! One of the highlights was visiting the San Diego Zoo. Although everything there was simply amazing, my kids and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to pet live stingrays. I think we stayed there and interacted with those creatures for at least an hour. Luckily for us, these stingrays did not still have the stingers on the end of their tails. If the stingers were still intact, these animals possess enough deadly venom to kill a person. However, without these lethal barbs, they seemed like the friendliest sea creatures we had ever encountered.
Look at these happy people playing with those cute and cuddly stingrays.
After checking out some other incredible animals, we headed back to the condo we were renting. Then we decided to head down to the beach. Before we left, we noticed that the condo had provided a couple of inflatable sharks for the kids to play with. How cool! They also had an industrial strength pump in the garage. Even better!
Once the sharks were properly inflated, we walked to the gorgeous beach. We ran to the water and my daughter jumped on her shark. Next, she asked me to pull her on it. I had a wonderful time pulling Jaws and MJ through the shallow water.
A few minutes into the ride, something caught my eye.
I couldn't believe my luck!
There was an adorable stingray a few feet away!
I grabbed the shark on which my daughter happily sat and sprinted towards that cuddly creature. Perhaps we could get close enough to pet it just like at the zoo!
After 7 or 8 steps, it hit me...
Stingrays
Have
Deadly
Stingers!
Actual footage of the moment I remembered wild stingrays can be deadly.
I immediately grabbed my daughter and rushed to the shore. As I sat panting on the beach, I noticed the now abandoned inflatable shark drifting away. (As time goes by, I am sure this part of the story will morph into the shark being popper by the stingray's deadly tail.)
What was the dumbest thing I did this summer?
I pulled my daughter toward a deadly wild stingray in hopes that we could pet it.
Beat that!
This was a couple of summers ago. I ran over my kid with a stroller once... she was like 2 and a half, didn't know my sister hadn't strapped her in and as we were walking I hit a snag... Well I thought it was just a bump so I pushed. My sister yelled "STOP!", Rose was already under the stroller. Serious guilt. She walked around with a dramatic limp... until she saw the trampoline of course, then she was fine and I felt a tad less bad.
And late update: I finally got a really good oppritunity to try out that video yesterday afternoon. After lunch time they clean up the playroom, well all day yesterday they were being right little...
Well they were screaming and crying and yanking and there may have been some scratching and NO cleaning, so at the end of my rope I called attention. They threw whatever was in their hands and ran to line up as usual, and I told them to sit down on the couch because we're going to watch a video. Naturally being 4, 5, 5, and 7 they were upset at first. "Whats going to happen to the dog?!" "Will it die?!" (mine), "How'd he get down there?!" I told them just watch.
By the end they got the team work thing, we had a short discussion about co-operation and communication ("Did you see how they we're talking it out with each other to figure it out?") and I dismissed them. 10 minutes later I had a quiet house and a clean playroom. So thanks ;)
You mean they all won't swim up to you and suck on your fingers like at the zoo?!
Oh I'm sure they would... after they killed me!
The sun was starting to rise and I wanted a photo of the sunrise for a post. Swung open the screened back door and did not realize at the time. That really anger a certain something.
So there I was happily taking photos of the sunrise. Along came this bunny rabbit. It stops and looked at me like “fool, you are about to have a very bad day.” At the time I thought how cute it stopped for a photo as well.
I heard some sounds/movement/something but I was busy taking a photo of the rabbit. I back up a bit to get him more the way I wanted. I could swear I felt some movement but didn’t think anything of it.
I turned around to go back inside. Also snagged my face on a giant spider web. It was between the door that I opened and then closed and the wall. I thought to myself “I don’t want to meet whatever made that”
Oh is that the spider?. Hmm, what kind is it? I wonder how long it been there? That be an amazing photo to take? I, I, I… It took me longer than it should have to realize. It was a black widow. Shaking its entire body violently in its web. My face so close to it I’m shocked I did not have a very bad day. It took me a while in my haze of “omg/still waking up moment/do I want a photo” to back up away from it. No, I did not take a photo!
I went to the other side of the back screen area and used a different door. Then I went and put up some random blog I forget the name of because I needed a blog for that day.
You have the makings of a fun story there. You should post it.
While I do welcome the reason to procrastinate even more and not get out other blogs out. It is a perfect comment kind of story :)
I've chased inflatable toys in some places I'd rather not think about, once swimming cross a swamp of brown water. Good thing that ray you saw wasn't a shark (cue the Jaws soundtrack)!
LOL. I could have at least justified it if I were chasing something. But I flat out chose to run toward it. I think one of the requirements of a dad is to run after $5 inflatables as if they are made of pure gold.
Oh, the spaces I have squeezed myself into and the efforts I have made to retrieve a child's item that I would never have done for my own belongings. lol
There is a difference betwee Manta Rays and Sting Rays. They look similar and the Manta's do not have the stinger. Maybe you had the two confused? Being that I'm in the Western Pacific, I'll keep a lookout for that floating shark!
They are not stupid things are crazy occurrences that are part of our way of being. The stupid thing would be to not do things to remember even when it's a risk. Thanks for sharing this post, very nice. I congratulate you
That is a great point. I am so happy it was harmless so we can always laugh about this.
Dumb things this summer? Hmmmmm Yesterday would have to be one of them. I had planned to take a friend and her daughters fishing with my girls. We got us and the day looked beautiful but the weather report said it was going to thundershower. It had been saying that for days without a drop of rain so we decided to head out and enjoy the water. We were out there less than an hour when we saw it... A massive rain cloud coming our way. I started up the boat and set to head back to the dock but it was too late. Within minutes we were in a massive downpour and getting soaked through tot he bone. We made it to the dock just in time for the thunder and lightning to start rolling. In the middle of a lake in an aluminum boat isn't quite where I want to be in a lightning storm. lol
Oooo that is a good one. I'm very glad you didn't get zapped!
It's good to have family stories that will be re-told over and over! You'll never live it down but it's nice to be the star of your own silly stories!
I am a star of many silly stories.
I enyoy your fun messages. You are a funny guy...
Your daughter loves you. Much smiles:))
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Thank you. She really is a great kid.
True. Thanks:))
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I dressed up in a clown outfit and humped some furniture
"Beat that!"
You did.