Last week during thursday Ultimate I got a medium sized scrape on my arm and a couple on my knee when I "laid out" for a disc. Well, perhaps more of a "lay down" but moving on.. A good 6 inches long and up to 3 inches wide on my arm. After that, B was totally engrossed in the bandages and scab, saying "elbow" and "ow".
Last night, D brought the kids and our nanny to a game. First time the kids have ever seen Dad play. Guess what happens? Another long throw that dear old Dad can't quite get to. So I lay out(/down), totally thrashing the same spots but catching the disc! Probably my best catch in about 3 years and the whole family was in attendance and saw it.
After being mobbed by some of my team, it was strongly suggested that I needed to go to the sidelines for repairs. I looked down, and I'm leaking all over the place. The kids were completely fascinated by the leaking, and B kept saying "ow ow ow ow". I got to show "leadership" and say "yes it hurts but Daddy's not crying". Some wrap and tape and back in the game!
Afterwards, a few of our team were talking and the general consensus when they saw the play was that "Dave is soo going to go for that!".
Truly a glorious "Dad" moment, but I also had some melancholy. As a 40 year old with very young children, they aren't really going to remember their dad as being athletic. When they really start remembering things, I won't be laying out for discs..
But I'll savour the moment for now, and recall it for a long time.
glory days indeed.