Bug-Dodgin'

Last night, as I was driving home from practice, my son posed a question I seriously had to stop and think carefully about before answering. At first, I admit, I was chomping at the bit for a witty comeback that would no doubt illicit laughter as a response from my sons' four-year-old body. That's my whole goal in life is to make my son laugh - he has the very best laugh in the world. But, the longer I thought about it, the more I thought I needed to choose my words carefully and try to maintain at least a little bit of seriousness in my answer.

Anyone with children or around children on a frequent basis knows they can ask some of the funniest questions. Some questions are silly, some are fairly complex, and some are genuinely seeking solid information that could perhaps change the way these children view the world. But, then you get a question where there are so many answers to and each answer is different depending on the situation - a circumstantial question.

So, it's well after 9:00pm and dark - the sound of something like rain hitting the windshield (actually it was bugs - yuck - we have to drive through some farmland to get home) and he asked me, "Daddy, why are the bugs hitting us?" I said, "They're not really hitting us as much as we are hitting them - I don't think they mean to hit us - we're just driving at a speed faster than they can fly." So, he said, "Can we slow down?"

Now, for a normal person in a normal situation, this may not be that profound. But, in my opinion normalcy is a relative concept. See, if normal happens where normal is supposed to happen - of course that's normal. But, if normal happens where weird is supposed to happen - then normal actually becomes weird. So, this was weird for me. How do you explain to a four-year-old that bugs aren't near as important as my getting home to watch my pre-recorded "So You Think You Can Dance" show? How do you explain the fact that bugs are just bugs and that in the realm of existence they rank about the bottom of the food chain? But, the biggest impact his question had on me was the fact that he was so concerned for the bugs - I couldn't bring myself to crush his little heart. So I slowed down.

My son is the very best thing to ever happen to me. He has shown me how to slow down and just live - enjoying stupid little things like bugs. He's shown me how to really laugh. He's shown me how to really love. I thank God for him everyday and pray that God will make me the father Eli needs for me to be.

So, the rest of the drive home we spent "Bug-dodgin'." We turned the brights on and swerved everytime we saw a fatty come straight for us. Sometimes we missed them and sometimes we hit them - but I explained that "You can't win 'em all, son." I think he understood and we had a great time the rest of the way home.