Adventure Squad...
I've stated many times through the run of my blog, that kids are special; I say that of course not having any kids of my own but knowing there's so much magic within the eyes and hearts of children whom I've interacted with over the course of time.
My bestie during this pandemic has been a four almost five year old girl who has laughed with me, given me stink eyes, cried at me, given me side eyes, challenged me to a race, tackled me, played baseball, chased butterflies, dragonflies, summer moths, flies, ants, worms, that one cricket, and eaten ice cream with me. I'm pretty sure without her there would be more of a cloud over my head these days; she has zero idea that I've probably needed her silliness more than she has needed my presence.
This is all a dance, a carefully executed dance of personalities and understand, learning and patience. I suppose the same could be said of my time with some adults as well during the course of this year. The quote of the year still goes out to a friend of mine who told me, "
To be fair, my brother Tony and his family have kept my emotions up as well! IF he wasn't two doors down from me, I might have already caught a case and needed bail money sent for my freedom. We've played golf, grown mustaches, watched Pulp Fiction 25x, eaten amazing food, laughed, I've cried a few times in his presence, but through it all we've had love amongst us all. I'm just happy I'm older and can use my age to keep him in check, his wife not so much as she has the green light from my dad to give me a whoopin' if I act up in while in her care!
There are a few people who've ensured that I haven't fallen and to all of you, I say thank you; I should name you all by name but then folks would know my secret family pack and use you against me, like for ransom or something. "Oh you have, BEAR huh... wait how much is her fee, okay okay okay, I'll pay, take it easy man, if you hurt her, I'll find you and I will kill you." (I've always wanted to type that line)
The number one question which I'm receiving these days is, "How are you holding up during this pandemic, you know, since you love travel and all?" and my response is always the same, "I'm making it, there's still so much to do".
It's good to have nieces and nephews because they eventually make it to the fun stage in life when you can hand them your car keys and say, "Drive" and those little Gremlins will actually drive. I'll issue a disclaimer, due to the fact I'm unsure who all read these posts (NEITHER CHILD PICTURED HAVE DRIVEN MY CAR, yet).
Last year, these two gents both picked up Sony Alpha cameras and began to do a little photography. My godson (left) is affectionately called Sleepy G because you'll pick him up at 8a for a road trip and he'll be asleep by 8:03a and the cool kid on the right is actually his cousin whom I call Aux Cord simply due to the fact he handles the music during most trips.
I've been around these two for far too long and they're at the age where I look back and wonder where the hell time has gone. It's humbling to be older and still have the ability to vibe with the cool kids, even though I'm older than their parents. Side note, I'm not saying that I'm cooler than their parents, as they both have a good base; I am saying that they allow me into their teen lives and I find myself wondering if their parents would understand (haha).
Through photography, video game talking, music, and random trips, we've formed the Adventure Squad. We've skated through town, walked all through San Francisco, stood on sketchy rocks, and taken a few pictures along our way, not to mention the laughter.
Our last trip allowed me to breathe a bit when I was feeling at the end of my emotional rope. I've stated many times through the run of my blog, that kids are special; I say that of course not having any kids of my own but knowing there's so much magic within the eyes and hearts of children whom I've interacted with over the course of time.
We needn't adventure with adults all of the time as many have forgotten what it was like to be a child. Thank you to the fellas for allowing me to belong if only for snippets of time.
