Rocket Day with Daddy

Santa brought my son an Estes Conquest model rocket for Christmas. It arrived in a bunch of little pieces that needed to be carefully cut, sanded, glued together, and painted to form this awesome rocket.

At skill level 5, it was too advanced for a four year old. It was a job for Dad.

The Chief is incredibly talented at completing intricate work. I don’t know everything about his job in the Navy, but I know it involves making metal parts to the highest level of precision, at which he excels. He has received numerous commendations for coming through with critical fixes that allowed his ship to further its mission. I really love a story about a repair he made by using a sliver of an Asahi Wonda steel coffee can — totally MacGyver-ish. The other story I adore is his team’s creation of a five-pronged water filtration system to aid in the humanitarian relief efforts after a devastating typhoon in the Philippines.

He is a giving man, a hard worker, and loves his family dearly. I pray our children will be inspired by him when they become adults.

Until then, he wrestles with them, tickles their bellies with “The Claw,” pushes them far higher on the swings than Mommy, and takes them out for Rocket Day.

It is endearing to watch him with our son. He patiently tries to teach him about rockets even though our son’s attention is solely focused on the lift-off. They count down together, and he lets him push the launch button.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Blast off!

The rocket screams into the sky, and then, Poof! The parachute pops out and the rocket glides gently back to earth. Our son runs to recover it, and they get it set for another run. He loves Rocket Day with daddy.

Baby-chan is a bit standoffish by the loudness of the rockets, but she still enjoys the time together as a family. Daddy was even kind enough to glue a cute fox sticker on her rocket. I’m sure she’ll soon catch a case of rocket fever like the rest of us.

Our kids have a really great daddy.  — v.