Wide Left Is Still Right

  We arrived about a month too late. Much to the disappointment of me and two of my three children he had already come and gone. I could see the disappointment in their eyes when we were told he was here, November 5. Devastated? Um, that was the understatement of the year. I remember thinking, "Did he really just say he was already here, November 5." Indeed he did. Not even our eventual trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream would brighten our spirits. I kept hoping it was a mistake. All I could do was rally us back together and try to make the best of a disappointing situation. It was not cool. I felt like a failure and I hated that feeling in the pit of my stomach. It felt like someone just kicked me in the gut. Ouch, that hurts!

  I wanted to yell at someone. Your website was wrong! I even showed them. I was kind and courteous even though I could feel my heart racing a mile a minute. Ten or fifteen years' ago it might have been a different story. I needed to be a good example. Yeah, you get my drift. Leading up to the show, I was burgeoning with excitement. I could not wait for Saturday night to come. It was going to be the surprise that memories are built upon. I thought I had stumbled across a winner. I was beaming as we drove to the destination. He has become our family's favorite. I love to laugh and so do my kids. But then, the rug was pulled out from under our feet. I was crushed and more so because I could see that they were crushed. They were disappointed and there was nothing I could do.

  His name is Tim Hawkins. He is one of the funniest comedians I have ever listened to. He is clean, witty and most of all he makes me and my family laugh. We sit around at dinner doing his lines and then we all laugh. We usually repeat ourselves. My wife looks at us puzzled. "Didn't you guys do that one last night?" Of course we did. They just don't get old. I am all for beating things into the ground. The Cracker Barrel skit is one of our favorites. Last Friday night I was online listening to some of his stand-up and thought I would see if he had any plans to be in our area. Lo and behold, according to a local community college website (where he had apparently already performed), he was in town for four shows. Well, so I thought.  I slept on it and when I awoke my wife and I agreed to purchase tickets online. I should have verified it with his website. I guess my excitement got the best of me. Apparently, I was buying tickets for a Christmas Country show or something. Yeah, not the same thing as seeing a funny man bringing us to hysterics for a few hours. My wife and I thought it would be a tremendous surprise. It would be the night of all nights. At least that is what I hoped.

  My kids understood. They didn't blame me although I wanted to find a hole somewhere and jump in. You know those Southwest Airlines' commercials where the guy says, "Wanna get away?" Well, that was me. I wanted to get away because I felt I let the kids down. I demand excellence of myself in all areas of my life and I felt I had let them down. Has that happened to you? It's awful isn't it? Yeah, it sure is! I know it is a good lesson for our kids to see. I was just hoping some other parent(s) could experience it with their kids instead of me. Nice, huh! Yeah, I don't really wish that. I know that our kids have to see failure. They have to understand what it feels like. In reality we all fail one time or perhaps many times. Our kids can see it. It is okay.

 You know I missed the field goal but I still won the game. I created a memory of something different than I thought. Memories can be positive ones where we show our kids that we are human too. As much of a perfectionist as I may be, I am FAR from it. I strive for it, know I will never really reach it, but still demand it from myself. We put too much pressure on ourselves. I know I do. The world and society should not dictate how we as parents measure success. So, we missed a show but I was able to spend some time with two of my precious gifts. I think one day we will get to see Hawkins' show. I think it will make it more special when we do. Hopefully we will look back and have a laugh or two. Hey, we still had blizzards at DQ. What's not to like about that! I was wide left on my kick but I was still right because it was about them. Spending time with our kids is a necessity. So is having fun with them. I want to help them be kids. They are our pride and joy. Let's never forget it. Remember, it's about the dash!