Monday, September 23, 2013

Fathering a Memory

This is the stuff that favorite childhood memories are made of. These are the moments that cast bonds between fathers and sons that transend the body and tie the spirit.

On this father-son day, it was the water that brought God into the moment. 

We joined our friends Brian and Ryan at Will Rodgers State Beach for the daddies to pass on a great love to their sons. Other great beaches to get cozy in the water or learn how to surf are Zuma tower 14, Mondos and Old Man's near San Diego.

On this day, I followed behind with my camera and an extra set of eyes. So glad I did.
 Howard with 5 yo Kaleb: here it comes!

 go Kaleb go!
not a big fan of water in the eyes
we did it!

With my dad, it was cowboy movies and action flicks. We watched Clint Eastwood bury the bad guys and medieval warriors storm castles. Not very active or enriching beyond the actual time we spent together. My brother, Danny couldn't recall our dad passing on any skills to him either. "He even hired someone to teach me how to drive a stick shift," he groused. Though he did report they watched the rise and fall of Mike Tyson on the tube together. I'm sensing a theme here. But in my father's defense, he immigrated us to this country and worked many hours each day to get us ahead. He was mostly just tired all the time.

All that hard work paid off. My father allowed my brother and me to spend days with our kids like last Sunday when the man I married got to share something that captured his heart with his sons.

And we got to hang out on the beach, just enjoying the day.

And we watched our kids gather the pieces of moments that will forever be the building blocks to their self worth and relationship with their own kids.

 Ryan and William (he's a little older)
 Brian and Jacob (he just looks a little older)
 watch out below!
Howard and Knox (the baby)

I'm going to be forever grateful for the sacrifices my father made for me to live the amazing life I get to live today.  It is the gratitude that will forever bind me to my father, instead of the memories of these types of moments. And it is with great compassion that I see the other hard-working fathers who have to sacrifice the time they could be spending with their families to make sure their kids can get ahead. 

These are the real undercover superheros.




7 comments:

Kim Tracy Prince said...

This is beautiful, Rina. The photos and the gratitude. That is what strengthens families - being mindful of what we give to each other.

Miss Laurel said...

So lovely! And it's so wonderful to see you loving these moments, not taking their preciousness for granted, as so many people often do. Just wonderful.

Rina Baraz Nehdar said...

Thanks Kim. You're right. Being mindful with each other and with our lives is so important. Is it a luxury? I think for some and for the lucky ones its a way of life.

Miss Laurel said...

Lovely. Just lovely, Rina!

Rina Baraz Nehdar said...

Thanks Laurel. Every older mom I know tells me how quickly it all goes by. I'm listening and trying to drag out the fun times.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rina love the pics! My husband also has a passion for surfing and takes the kids out at least once a week. It is amazing to see the sheer pride and joy in his eyes as he watches the children in the water. As a testament to their hard work they entered their first amateur surf contest last week. What a fun day and what amazing memories! If you are ever in Mission stop by for a surf. Laura Miller-Meza

Rina Baraz Nehdar said...

Laura that is so cool! I wanna see pics of that! And yes definitely! Next time we're near SD I will find you!