Two Foot Tall Tony Hawk

So the base decided it was a good idea to build a concrete skate park for the neighborhood Coast Guard brats kids. The grand opening was supposed to be last week but was rescheduled to today due to rain. Because around here, rain actually causes delays. People see clouds and a few drops and lose their brains and run indoors as fast as possible! Wussies. 


 Maybe it's because the rain here usually comes with a side of severe lightning. Yeah okay, delays might be warranted in that case.

Obviously my kids are too small to really make any use of a skate park. However, the opening ceremony (if you will) promised free lunch, music and a raffle drawing for several skateboards. And Calen likes basically any extreme sport (especially dirt bikes and skateboards) so he'd get a kick out of watching the big kids ride their skateboards. And it's like, three blocks away. Why wouldn't we show up? At least we get free lunch. 


Camden decided to sleep in until 10 freaking 45am so he was basically still eating breakfast when Calen and I left for the park, so he and Daddy stayed home. I forced convinced him to ride his bike there since now he's almost a pro at it. Man, he's really figuring this out. He only needs help here and there to start back up again if he rolls to a stop. And to keep him focused on where he's going, because often he'll fixate on a firetruck driving by (for example) and ride into a ditch/mailbox/little brother/insert inanimate object here. But otherwise, he motors along great (well, great for only really learning how to ride a few days ago). 

It was only 88 degrees today but I'm pretty sure the USCG secretly buried thousands of little space heaters under the skate park to deter tourists from letting their brats kids ride on it because it was HOT and we were all suffering. The Captain did this long-winded Hooray for Skate Parks And Especially Myself speech and then the Chaplain blessed it ("Please God protect every kid's brain from splattering all over the half pipe...."....okay maybe he didn't say THAT) and cutting of the ribbon, etc etc. They had really bad hot dogs incinerated by the Auxiliarists and lots of free drinks and coupons and all that stuff. 

Watching all the skaters at the new park

One of the local skate and surf shops had a bunch of skateboards that kids (or adults) could try out for free. So I hooked Calen up with a helmet and a little rubber skateboard (one that had softer wheels and rubber gribs for his feet). He was immensely wobbly and nervous, but he.loved.it. He loved it so much he didn't want to stop. He asked to go on the half-pipe and one of the ramps and I was like "ummm NO. Not until you are at LEAST 25 and have your own insurance. And even then." Oh, my little two foot tall Tony Hawk.

Thank you Dana for taking this awesome pic of my future Tony Hawk!

He loved it so much that when everyone was called off the park to the event tent where the skate shops were giving out their raffle prizes, he threw a once in a lifetime kicking, screaming, wailing fit. You know one of those everyone else is quiet and staring at YOUR tantrum throwing monster kind of fits. Maybe it was the heat. Or the bad hot dog. Or an alien implant. Whatever it was, worst.tantrum.ever. Apparently he really likes skateboarding. Then I tried to give the skateboard back to the skate shop. You know, because we were only borrowing it. Try explaining that to a hysterical preschooler. Yeah, no. So I let him sit on it until the end of the raffle.

As everyone crowded around the event tent, Calen sits staring longingly at the skate park

AND, Calen won a raffle prize!! His VERY OWN skateboard! An adult size, but who cares? It's HIS! His VERY own! I thought "Victory! Now I can return the borrowed skateboard easy peasy." So I told Calen now that he had his very own skateboard he had to give back the rubber one. 

Except, his new skateboard didn't have wheels. You know, how some don't come with wheels and you have to buy the bearings and the wheels and whatever and install them. Big deal. But Calen didn't get it. This was a huge deal. What the hell good is a skateboard that doesn't have wheels? He wanted to give the skate shop his new skateboard and keep the one with wheels. In theory, I don't blame him. He doesn't understand. So I did what any loving parent does once you realize there is no possibility of getting through to them:


I pried the borrowed skateboard and helmet out of his fingers and lunged them at the event table and whisked Calen away before he could snatch it back. More screaming, tears, wailing, feet stomping. And then we left IMMEDIATELY. 

In actual theory, even if that skateboard came with wheels it would STILL be too big for him to actually use. Plans of buying him a little skateboard for Christmas is in the works. 

"Mommy, this skateboard BROKEN. Wheres the WHEELS?" Poor kid

 

 

 

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