Fatherhood and Managed Risk

Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of those times when mom or dad guided me through new or dangerous territory. My late father delighted in this and my mother made a career out of it (she helped administer adult high school and college degree completion programs until her recent retirement). 

This evening I had the opportunity to help my eight-year-old son with one of these new adventures. Mr. Aidan is a cub scout and we finally got around to working on his pinewood derby car. My intention had been to do this yesterday, but I couldn't find our safety glasses, so we went out early this evening to Ace Hardware (the local Ace is truly helpful!) and picked up size-appropriate safety goggles and ear plugs.

Below is a clip of my son using our orbital sander to smooth out his derby car design. What a delight to see him grow in confidence as he learns a new skill and so willingly participate thereby in the safety and clean-up parts of the whole process.

We should've done this a long time ago. What a treat!!!