Yes, I’ll readily admit that I’m a kid at heart, despite my seeming inability to relate to actual kids now. I like to occasionally walk through the toy section while at the department store to see what new stuff is out. Incidentally, some of the new stuff is bad. Like, “who the hell thought this was a good idea?!?” bad. Pooping potatoes and popping zits… do your own research from there. I have BB guns and an air rifle that I shoot in the backyard with my son; I have radio control drones and a stadium truck, all of which need to be charged before spring; and I still play video games, though mostly on my cell phone. I have a container of animal crackers and a couple of packs of gummy bears at my desk at work. Sitting here right next to me is a not-for-much-longer unopened pack of nano blocks from which I will build a gorilla; I tried my hand at another set that was supposed to be a certain comic book/movie heroine, but I was genuinely saddened and disappointed to find out there were pieces missing, much the same as if a young boy opened a new toy only to see it is already broken. Oh, the heartbreak! I still like to “play” outside, though that set of activities has matured along with me.
As an adult and dad, my own “playtime” tries to include the kids. I still shoot BB guns, as I stated prior, but I also sprinkle in some range time when possible. I have, in fact, taken a couple of the kids with me, including our youngest. He’s asked me a couple of times since then when our next trip will be; hopefully soon, bud. Granted, shooting at an indoor range doesn’t exactly count as “outside play”, but it’s outside our house. Here’s one – actually, two – you can’t argue with: hiking and fishing. I did neither as a kid, instead being introduced to both as an adult. However, I love both activities, and I am really hoping that THIS year we can do a lot more of both.
My girlfriend, who has storied me about countless hours and days spent with her dad on his fishing trips, started me off on fishing by giving me a fishing combo kit as a birthday gift about a decade ago. I still have that rod and reel, though the reel has long passed it’s operational life. Since then my collection of gear and knowledge has grown. I’ve introduced my son to it (though he finds it ‘boring’), and I have a rod and reel ready for him to use at any given time. I can easily spend hours sitting on the beach, casting out into the surf, watching the waves and the birds, listening to the water… and not catch a single fish. It can be frustrating, but so can the slow parts to a great movie. Then there are the times when it feels like I’ve got Moby Dick on the hook and I’m straining with all my might to reel him in! Jaw clenched, biceps flexing to bring the rod back, legs straining to keep me upright as the fish fights back… It’s a riveting tale of Man versus Nature! And in spectacular fashion, the victory can go either way: either my titanic struggle will yield fruits unto me in the form of a 6-inch young croaker (yes, you can laugh because it is funny), or the unknown creature from the water will succeed in throwing the hook and swimming away, leaving me to wonder if it was a common croaker, an elusive flounder, or maybe even the rare shark. By the way, I have indeed caught a couple of young sharks here, right down the road at our local pier! It’s true what they say: a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work.
Hiking. Trekking through the outdoors on foot, carrying what you might need on your (or someone else’s) person. Enjoying the sights and sounds of your surroundings. This was another activity that was influenced by someone else who had been doing it for years. From her stories and a tiny bit of Facebook album stalking I decided that this walking in the outdoors thing was worth a try. I haven’t had a bad day hiking yet – even that one time that my girlfriend, her youngest daughter, our son, and I were caught in a torrential storm in the middle of a trek. And by ‘torrential’, I’m talking about water flowing past us down the main road (which we tried to quickly get to before the sky opened up – we didn’t make it), bodies soaked from head and hats all the way down to squishy socks and shoes around our wrinkly toes. That’s when I found out my sling pack was not waterproof, hehe. It was still pouring when we finally made it back to the car. I’m sure we looked the absolute picture of ‘miserable wet cats’, taking off as much clothes as we legally could to pile in and drive home. But dammit if that didn’t make for a memorable hike! I’d do it again – just with towels and an extra set of clothes in the car, preferably.
I still play board games with the family, and we all usually lose to my girlfriend if she’s joining us. I can only do that every so often, though, and would prefer to play by myself. But even my difficulties in interacting with others doesn’t keep me from some good ol’ frolicking about. I just have to be care not to frolic too hard – with these bad knees and shoulder and back and generally being old and fat… Well, my mom says it best: “You better be careful! You ain’t a spring chicken, ya know!”
The Antisocial Dad 