My Failure as a Dad ...

I can't believe what happened today ... maybe someone out there can help me with my fathering skills.

Left over from a birthday party at the Pelley's house were a few helium filled balloons. Kelvin and I decided that we had to suck out the helium in the balloons so that we could talk like Donald Duck.

So, I did the first one (see photo on left), and then we would have Zach and Andrew do one each. Zach went first. I handed him the balloon and gave him careful instructions on how to suck in the helium. He proceeded to take it and then all of the helium came squirting out, hitting him right smack in the face. I actually don't think one drop of helium even went into his mouth.

We were down to our last balloon and all of our hope was placed in Andrew now. That's a scary thought in itself. I cut the knot off the balloon, and gave even more careful instruction, drawing from the lessons of Zachary's experience. I handed the balloon to Andrew, and before I could blink, the end of the balloon was flapping against his lips and helium was being sprayed all over his face.

0 for 2. I couldn't believe my failure ... how could I have two sons that don't know how to suck helium out of a balloon? What had I done wrong? This was a serious blemish on my parenting skills. There wasn't much I could do but lick my wounds.

That afternoon I took them out in the backyard and drilled them with footballs. We ran down-and-outs. We ran slants. We ran Andrew's favorite, the center sneak. They ran them to perfection. I felt much better after that ... I had redeemed some of my fatherly pride.