When we were little, my dad bought a lot on a river. He built a pier on it, too, and made sure there were no stumps nearby. We could float just fine, but mom and dad were worried about that water, and they wanted to take us out in the boat and water ski. Dad bought us life vests.
Then he wanted to check the functionality of the vests.
So he picked us up and threw us in the water, hard, several times.
It instantly became dad's new job, as far as we were concerned.
I love this scene because it shows the combination of tenderness and rambunctiousness that a man brings to his relationship with children he cares about. He is teaching the boy, helping him grow, encouraging the boy to be bold in the world. Yet he also asks, first, how old the boy is before he pitches the boy into the water. It's not reckless or careless, but it's also an absolute refusal to coddle.
2 comments:
When we were little, my dad bought a lot on a river. He built a pier on it, too, and made sure there were no stumps nearby. We could float just fine, but mom and dad were worried about that water, and they wanted to take us out in the boat and water ski. Dad bought us life vests.
Then he wanted to check the functionality of the vests.
So he picked us up and threw us in the water, hard, several times.
It instantly became dad's new job, as far as we were concerned.
Valerie
I love this scene because it shows the combination of tenderness and rambunctiousness that a man brings to his relationship with children he cares about. He is teaching the boy, helping him grow, encouraging the boy to be bold in the world. Yet he also asks, first, how old the boy is before he pitches the boy into the water. It's not reckless or careless, but it's also an absolute refusal to coddle.
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