A Tale Of Survival...

I’m a new dad. And as a new dad I’m a tad bit overprotective.  But as we approach the two month mark, I’m beginning to loosen up some.  Not dangle my baby over a balcony loose, but I may no longer need medication.

Over the weekend, temperatures soared into the mid seventies.  The sun was shining and it looked like the perfect day for a walk in the woods.  My wife and I hit trails behind our house.  She wore the baby carrier and I led the way with the dogs, wearing the goofy dad smile that I'm told I have when doing family activities.

Fresh air, that's what this kid needs.  We thought, proud of ourselves for getting out and exposing our young child to nature.

The first sign of danger lurked in the menacing dark clouds overhead.

“Should we turn around?” I asked my wife.

“No, we’re fine.”

Obviously I wouldn’t be writing this post if we had been fine.  We should have turned around, but this blog is not a vehicle for I told you so’s and I was rights.  We continued on, climbing further into the woods as our son slept, unaware of the danger looming above his fragile little head.

Thunder boomed from within the thick black clouds, shaking the rains free from their grasp as pellets of ice and hail dumped from the sky. I started to panic, debating whether I should strap the baby on to my chest and make a run for it.  The wind slapped our backs, swirling as my wife and I yelled in efforts to hear each other over the trees falling around us.  We held onto each other, shielding the baby from the debris until, in the distance, we watched as a funnel came ripping through the tree line.

Let me take a breath. It appears that I may have watched too much of The Bible on the history channel yesterday.  There was some thunder, and perhaps a drop of rain, but I may have slightly embellished the intensity of the storm. There was no twister.  My wife used her scarf to cover our baby, and we made it back to the house before child services got wind of our exploits.

But it was terrifying, feeling helpless out there exposed to whatever mother nature decided to throw our way.  Thankfully, she was gentle, and now I know that babies don't melt.