I earned my wings by returning home and parental whack a mole.

This Thanksgiving I traveled to see my sister in South Dakota.. Ok, now they give kids who fly wings, they give parents who fly with 2 boys vodka. Benjamin is a seasoned traveler at this juncture and this was the first trip that Bryce has been on. To say he was fascinated would be an understatement. The flights to South Dakota were fine and Bryce did awesome on all the flights.

In my previous post I disclosed that my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was decided that I would take the boys out there while the family traveled on to see the grandchildren on the other coast. I would be there to take her to treatment and to cook dinner. Now, I should tell you that my sister is part of my “Chosen” family. We all have that. They are the people in our life who love use and want to be part of our family. Blood may be thicker than water but folks that choose to be an invaluable part of our life often are there as a result of greater design, faith and love.

My sisters mom and I were extremely close. I was the son she always wanted and she believed in me and always encouraged me in my dreams and to not give up. She died 15 years ago but to this day she continues to influence my life. It is rare that a person has such a profound impact on your life. I can admit that I took her death very hard. I promised her to always watch out for her family; to this day I have done that. She was like a gardener. She handed all of us the gift of dreams and the tools to be able to plant that garden and to watch it grow. By tending that garden we all give back to the world a piece of her magic. I truly believe that her spirit assisted my children in finding their way to me.

I think that travel is an amazing experience for children and despite the necessity for a therapy session flying alone with kids…I fall deeper in love with my kids as we experience the world together. On this trip my children got to meet friends that I have not seen in 15 years. They met and learned from Sioux native people and asked questions about beads, buffalo and all kinds of things. It is like traveling with 2 little sponges. The highlight of the trip was moving a herd of 1600 buffalo 10 miles from one pasture to another.

My sister owns and runs a buffalo ranch. So on Friday after an amazing Thanksgiving day of friends we headed off to the ranch. Benjamin was on one of the four wheelers with our friend Dave, Bryce and I on another and my other friends on more 4 wheelers. The kids were fascinated and I am always awed by moving the herd across the plains from one section of the ranch to another. At one point I was in the four wheel ranger with Bryce and Ben, eating gold fish and herding buffalo across the plains and the three modern cowboys were drawn into an experience that will surely not be forgotten. You can not help to be moved as the sound of the buffalo, the smell of sage, and the view of the black hills combine with antelope, eagles, owls, deer and working as a team come together into a moving experience. With all that being said, there are a few practical lessons I learned.

Gummi Worms are a great motivator-

I usually try to fly direct no matter where I go. However, as I like and often must travel to remote places changing planes with 2 kids by myself is not easy. So, I came up with the “Mission” plan. I gave Ben a mission, if we all were good on the flight, our first mission when we landed was to find Gummi Worms. If we could find them and then find our next flight we could eat the worms on the next flight. Hey, whatever works right?

This week proves to be a difficult week for me. As I had written previously, trial was scheduled for Bryce last week and despite the father not “Finally” being out of the picture, the birth mother in her drug crazed state popped up again and demands visitation. It is like parental whack a mole. Mother has not seen Bryce since he was six months old, it is still the same and her rights trump mine. So I have to bundle up my son and send him to a woman who not only endangered him but continues to do so. The trip gave me the strength to process it all and face this week with the support my son needs. We hope to once again be at trial in January to finish this but we are definitely back on the roller coaster again as parents continue to pop up.

It was a great trip and I continue to fall deeper in love with my kids as we share the world. Their thirst for knowledge and experience and love of people and acceptance of difference is amazing. The way they love the world and how they see it makes me a better person and parent. So for this trip, I earned my wings by traveling home single handedly with two boys and the kids and dad are alright and better for it.