The Moments - Chapter 20: Voting and Boating Beyond A Blue State of Mind

                As I reflect on (and sometimes over-analyze) the things my son says and does and our interactions together, I often zone in on one instance or conversation or a grouping of a few of them that seem to have a theme.  Sometimes (as in Chapter 16), I find myself simply looking back over one of those “perfect days” in which everything seemed so fun, mostly because Joey makes everything fun.  The last Saturday we spent together was one such day – not everything was planned, but everything was fun.  And, some of it seemed to have a theme, too.

                Joey and I did not spend the full morning together.  The only thing not falling into the “perfect day” category was that I had to work on this particular Saturday.  I space those occasions out as much as I can, but I needed to go my office for a little while before joining the fun of the day.  This was not a problem, since my girlfriend, Krista, was able and willing to take care of Joey for me.  As I put it to Joey, I needed him to take care of Krista while I was gone. 

While Joey was keeping an eye on her, Krista took him to the library for the regular Saturday morning Story Time held there.  It has become a regular activity for us when Joey is with me on a Saturday, and he loves it.  Our branch of the Nashville Public Library is also connected to the community center that serves as an early voting site for our area.  Joey and I had already visited it the previous Thursday to cast my votes for Nashville’s next Mayor and City Council.  Before Story Time began, Joey helped Krista cast her votes as well.  Joey, like most kids, enjoys pressing buttons for those taking him to the polls, but there is one thing he always aims for – the “I Voted” sticker.  If adults would only get that excited about stickers, we could improve voter turnout across the country!  After watching Krista cast her votes for, among other things, some seats on the Metro Council, Joey then heard from our own Council Member, Jacobia Dowell, during Story Time.  She visited with the kids and read a couple books as part of the program.  But it was not the last time that Joey would hang out with a Councilman before the day was done.

                Krista and Joey ran a couple of quick errands before returning to my apartment for the afternoon.  Among them was a stop at the Dollar Tree.  Krista took the “you can pick out one toy to buy” approach with him, and he took home a new squishy ball and slingshot.  My boy likes cool weaponry!  By the time I got home from work, they were already back at mine and Joey’s home, where Krista had fed him lunch and put Joey down for a nap.  We were all preparing for a fun evening ahead.

                After Joey woke up from his nap, he joined Krista and me in the living room to play and watch TV.  Krista had a couple of cards of paint samples from which she was selecting a color.  They were all in the gray and blue family and had complex names, as most paints do nowadays.  Still shaking off his sleepiness, Joey climbed up on our loveseat next to Krista where she showed him what she was doing and asked which color he liked.  Not pointing at one, he proudly declared, “Blue!”  Krista and I laughed, as at least six of the colors in front of him qualified as blue.  So, Krista narrowed it down for him, “Look at these.  Do you like ‘Prague blue’ or ‘native turquoise’?”  Still occasionally swapping “w” for “r,” we heard him choose, “Pwague blue.”  I guess he’ll know Prague through art before geography, courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.  After making his choice, Krista told him, “Ok.  I like that too.  I also like ‘Island of Saint Croix.’”  (I’m still just a fan of “blue.”)  Then, like he had written a guide for a map, Joey repeated in perfect pronunciation, “Island of Saint Croix.”  It dazzles me when he delivers words and phrases that a 3-year-old wouldn’t otherwise have any use for in such clear, confident tones.  He’s still my little boy, but he can speak beyond his years so easily.  I think our next inexpensive afternoon outing could just consist of walking through a paint store to let Joey quote color names. 

                The previous night, I had received an invitation from my friend, Councilman Duane Dominy, to join him and his family at a non-political gathering at a home on Old Hickory Lake hosted by some friends of theirs.  Krista and I knew we wouldn’t know most of the people there, but a change of scenery via an evening by the lake sounded like a great idea.

                When we arrived, it was obvious that we were on the boat-loaded side of Old Hickory Lake.  Whether docked or out in the water, there were several impressive crafts just within a short view – and plenty more as we had the chance to look farther.  Immediately after getting out of the car and beginning to walk toward the hosts’ house, Joey said, “Wow!  I didn’t know there would be boats!”  For the first couple of minutes, we could only assume that they were to be part of the scenery.  As soon as we approached the house and were greeted by our hosts, however, we were invited to join the next group taking a cruise on the lake.  I looked down at Joey to ask if he wanted to take a boat ride.  With a big, bright smile, he looked up and said, “Uh-huh, I do!”  So, before Councilman Dominy and his family had even arrived, the three of us were off to join a group on a high-powered pontoon.   Joey sat between Krista and me toward the front of the boat.  We had a great view of the other boats on the lake and the variety of houses lining the shore, and we felt every wave and bump as our captain slowed or sped the boat.  Joey enjoyed the whole thing.  He smiled in the sun as he watched what he could in and on the water.  Every time the boat slowed down again, he would say, “I want it to go faster again.”  And, soon enough, it would.  We spent about half an hour on the water before docking again.  Every minute of it was precious to see how fascinated Joey was by everything around him.  I love seeing the world as it passes through his eyes.

                After our cruise, we walked back up to the lake house to visit with Councilman Dominy and his family.  As he and I began a discussion of local politics, Mrs. Dominy and Krista quickly read each other’s minds and knew that they were both frequently surrounded by “our obsession.”  We chatted for a few moments while watching Joey explore the deck and pool area of the lovely house at which we were gathered.  After a few minutes, Krista and Joey and I went to eat and Councilman Dominy went to fish for a while.  He and his son headed to the dock, and the three of us headed to the serving table.

                After eating and visiting for a while, I told Joey that it was time to go home.  I said we were going back to the lake for a moment to thank Mr. Duane and say goodbye.  When we got down there, Joey got to experience “a first.”  Councilman Dominy and his son, Aaron, were happily fishing off the dock while another group was out cruising the lake on the boat that had transported us.  Joey was fascinated by what they were doing but didn’t say much.  Councilman Dominy offered Joey a small rod-and-reel that already had a line in the water.  Joey took it with an interested smile and said, “I haven’t been fishing before.”  He showed Joey how to hold it, and the experience just organically took off.  At first, Joey didn’t want to keep the line still, but he kept it in the water.  After a very few minutes, though, he sat down contentedly holding his line, watching the floats in the water, and further observing the lake that had already entertained him so much.  Though older than Joey, Aaron clearly enjoyed having another kid around for a while and offered his own tips and help as Joey became a part of the “sunset fishing crew.”  Joey sat down directly on the dock for a while and then, when offered to man the old-fashioned straight bamboo fishing pole, sat for a while on a small fold-out stool.  For several weeks prior, my son had pretty consistently remained in a high-energy, constantly on the move and all over the place mode but, in this scenario for the time we stayed with the Dominy boys on that dock, Joey was the most focused that I had seen him in a long time.  Even 3-year-olds respond well to the peaceful pleasures of life now and then.  Krista and I stood right behind them and enjoyed watching the whole thing.  Behind us, another fishing line had been left baited in the water and, all of a sudden, we heard some noise from it.  Since I was standing closest, I lunged down to reel it in and brought a decent-sized catfish onto the dock.  Joey enjoyed watching it flop around as I held the line on which it was hooked so that Councilman Dominy and one of his friends could transfer the whiskered water-dweller to their holding area.  While Joey was fascinated, he didn’t move away from his own post.  Barely a minute after the cat was secured, we saw a tug on Joey’s line.  Councilman Dominy and I coached and helped Joey to secure his pole and bring in what was on it.  At the end of the line was a nice-looking blue gill of about 6 or 7 inches in length.  Joey was excited and eventually barely touched the fish before helping Mr. Duane send him back into the water.  A few minutes later, we headed out, but Joey was glowing all night about his first round of fishing.  He may not understand the honor of Duane Dominy being a sitting Metro Councilman now, but he’s glad that he was sitting on that dock when we were about to say “goodbye” to Old Hickory Lake for the night.

                In his three-and-a-half years, I think Joey has had some really cool and some fairly rare experiences.  He makes the routine things in day-to-day life so much more fun to me, but I like being around and, I hope, being a part of some of the people and things that make life fun for him.  Who would have thought that in one day, Joey would read with one City Council member and then fish with another?  In the morning, he was helping cast votes, and in the evening, he was casting a fishing line.  Whether he pursues a life of formal public service, like some of that Saturday’s playmates, or not, I hope he will always, intentionally or unintentionally, keep making every day better for those around him.  Then, at any age, “the moments” will still be precious.