Yesterday, after bringing the kids home from school, this Dad was particularly grumpy. Why? No one knows but he was. Perhaps it was the temperatures hovering around ten below zero for two days.
Anyway, as this Dad got everything put away, he wanted to start a fire but didn't have firewood. So, he went upstairs to change and as soon as he got far away from his kids, one of them yelled (again) that he was hungry and wanted a snack. Now this grumpy Dad has just said he was going to change his clothes and to not ask for anything until he was done. Unfortunately, the son did hear or didn't want to hear his Dad and the Dad, being grumpy, closed his bedroom door quite loudly.
Hearing the son come upstairs and close his door, very quietly, the Dad stepped back and looked at himself.
So, this Dad, good guy that he can be, went to his son and apologized for yelling. He told his good son that he was just tired from a long day and was sorry for yelling/slamming/crabbing at him. The son accepted his apology and gave him a big hug.
The Dad said he was going out in the sub zero weather to get some firewood to warm up the ice box of a house. His son, now with a smile on his face, asked if the Dad wanted any help. The Dad jumped for joy and said of course. Bundling up, the two ran to the backyard and grabbed the wheelbarrow. They quickly stacked the wood in and ran to the garage to stack it once more. In between, they chatted about school and pinewood derby cars. The Dad's smile quickly returned and after they came back inside, a roaring fire began and the family was warm.
Later that night, after reading a story and saying prayers, the Dad told his son how proud he was of him and that it showed how responsible he was becoming to ask to help, without prompting. The son smiled and the grumpy Dad was gone. He was replaced instead by the proud Dad, who was seeing his son grow up before his eyes.
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