Xavier
Eighteen years later
“Dad! Look! A lion.”
I slide in behind Paul and put my hand on his shoulder. “I think that’s an African leopard, buddy.”
“Like a cheetah?”
“Kind of. Maybe a step slower, but when you’re so fast you could outrun your own spots that’s still pretty fast.”
“Wow.”
I turn around and see Leah snapping pictures of the two of us.
I let go of Paul’s shoulder and walk back to my wife.
“Nice one. You timed it perfectly.”
“That one’s going on the wall. Even the leopard’s in position.”
“You’ve really become quite the photographer.”
“It’s not hard when you have great subjects.”
“Isn’t that leopard a thing of beauty.”
“I’m talking about my family!”
She pokes me in the ribs.
“Hey! What do you mean? I was talking about you?”
“About me?”
“Yeah, Miss Hot Mama in her leopard pants. I could see your reflection in the glass.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
I lean in and give her a kiss.
With Luke heading off to college in the fall we decided to do one last big event while our family was still under the same roof. A Botswana safari sure seemed like the right call.
I did a lot of planning to make sure we had the best position, the safest reinforced glass and everything of that nature. As much as I’m enjoying the majestic beauty of these creatures I need to ensure the safety of my family first. Family always comes first, in every way.
And that’s why after this safari we’re all headed up to New York. We spend part of the summer and part of December in New York each year making sure our kids get a lot of time with their grandparents. It’s important for me that the kids get to see where they came from and to bond with their grandparents just as much as it is for me that our moms and dads get to spend time with our own little crew.
Our little crew that isn’t so little anymore.
I slowed down my travel considerably once I reconnected with Leah all those years ago. That and she was able to do a lot of work from home once she built her relationships with her clients. It only took a few years and they started to know each other like the backs of the other’s hands. There was no need to sit in an office to communicate and luckily Leah’s agency felt the same way.
I think they also valued Leah so much and knew her clients entire business with the agency was built on Leah being there so it made sense to treat her with the ultimate level of respect, not that they ever did anything but.
As the years progressed the agency became an all-female agency. It was really cool to see how they transformed not only the workplace, but how the word “work” fits into our lives.
With women running the show they prioritized family above all else and much to the surprise of a lot of many of the male-dominated competitor agencies their business actually flourished more on a year-to-year bases than anyone else in the country. With just three short years they were the biggest ad agency in the country and a year later the continent. I guess things really do work best with women running the show.
But there was nothing more that I enjoyed doing than leading my own family. And as much as Leah was my equal she was glad to have a male in her life who enjoyed being a true man. Who enjoyed all the things that being a man provides.
Mowing the lawn is just mowing the lawn…unless you’re doing it so your kids have a beautiful place to run and jump and play with their friends.
Playing basketball outside is just an enjoyable way to get some exercise…unless you’re doing it so your son can improve his own game and land a division one scholarship, which has always been his dream.
And going to the grocery store is just making sure you consume enough calories to stay alive…unless you’re choosing specific items from a special list so your daughter can make her cookies and cakes just the way she likes so one day she can turn her burning passion to satisfy the sweet tooths of her friends and family as the best dessert shop in town.
And the older I get the more my life changes, but the more it stays the same.
Life isn’t directly about my happiness. Not at all. Because the only way for me to be completely happy is to see my kids and my wife happy. To see my children pursuing their dreams with a smile on their face as my wife and I are right behind them, hand-in-hand, to guide them when they need it and to pick them up and dust them off when they fall.
But luckily we don’t fall much in our household. We do a great job of lifting each other up. As the old saying goes…standing on the backs of giants.
“Dad! An elephant! And a giraffe!”
Myla has her nose pressed against the glass of our safari home for the next few weeks. We’re safely away from any potential danger, but still close enough to enjoy the world around us.
And just like those giant creatures outside I’ll always stand tall and proud for my wife and kids.
I squat down and put my arms up and under my wife’s armpits lifting her in the air and setting her on my shoulders.
“How’s the view now?”
“Whoa. If you wouldn’t mind doing that a couple more times I’d be nose-to-nose with those guys out there.”
“But if I did that then we wouldn’t be able to do this.”
I pucker my lips and my wife carefully leans forward and kisses me right on the lips.
Yeah I like to lift her up, but what’s most important is keeping her close. Because when we’re together we make the best team ever.
And together is how we’ll always be.
One big supportive family.
Family. The best word in the English language.