I Fought The Lawn

Certainly the most alarming thing about marrying into a family after a significant amount of time as a bachelor is that you immediately start living your life for other people instead of yourself. Surprisingly, the transition is not as difficult as one might think.

It isn’t for me, anyhow. When I was a child, I didn’t dream either of being rich or having a fantastic job. Subsequently, I have never cared much for the accumulation of money [I find it more of a hassle than a desire], and I have never pursued the kind of job that one apparently dreams about. Instead, I dreamt about being married and having a family. Marriage is something that agrees with me, and while an argument could be made that I haven’t thus far proven I’m very good at it, it remains something that I quite enjoy. I have always wanted children [I question my ability to parent on a daily basis, mind you, but that's enough material for another post unto itself], and the idea of creating my own family has always been appealing. I’ve happy to report that now both marriage and parenthood have come to pass that the focus of my life shifting to both of those things feels remarkably normal.

With this in mind, then, the thought of taking the kids to Niagara Falls on Canada Day didn’t fill me with as much dread as I thought it would. We hit the Butterfly Conservatory first, where I got some great pictures of the kids and Tania with butterflies on them. It’s the largest butterfly conservatory in North America, and they just flutter all around you as you walk around. Tania had wisely bought tickets to the Falls as a whole, which included free transportation around the town on the ‘People Mover’, so we parked the car at the Conservatory outside town and shuttled in to the White Water Walk. Tania took the most remarkable family picture ever here, and Liam made this one absolutely perfect:

Isn’t that picture awesome? Anyhow, from White Water Walk, where Tania says they filmed a scene from Superman years ago, we took the Mover down to the Falls and snapped some pictures there that I’ll post in a bit. Coincidentally, they had a Superman Returns-themed Hummer there, and while the girls were in the can Liam and I were admiring it. The guys who were responsible for it saw our all-Falls access passport and gave us four free tickets to see the movie. That’s pretty sweet!

Afterwards, we hit the Maid of the Mist. Tania and Liam stayed on the bottom deck, but Hailey wanted to be on the top so I took her up there [again, pictures tomorrow]. I love the Maid; if you haven’t been on it, well, get on it. After a super-expensive lunch we went up that tacky street in town so that Liam could see the Marvel Comics Arcade, where Tania snapped a picture of the boy and I in our web-slinging poses in front of the Green Goblin. It was getting close to 9pm then, so we caught the last Mover out of town and back to the car. The kids behaved, and we all had a good time.

It’s kind of weird when the pleasure of the kids you’re responsible for matters more than your own. I can’t figure out why it comes so naturally. I don’t think I’m gonna think about it too much, though, and just go with it. It’s easier that way, you know?

- BC

BIG, CLUMSY POSTSCRIPTS: I hurt a friend’s feelings yesterday. I sincerely apologize for doing so. I’m sorry.

Also, I snapped this one of Liam playing beezball last week. His tongue’s sticking out, and the ball’s coming off his bat. You can’t take a bad picture with these digital cameras, man.