Snowed In with a Two Year Old and What We Learned

I like to think at 36 years old I’m still very healthy, but recently I’ve been reminded otherwise. It took surviving being snowed in with a two-year-old to learn that. 

A large dose of humility came crashing down on poor ol’ me (and my back) over those frigid four days. As my back became sore from clearing our drive and those of some elderly neighbors, the time at home taught me I’m not the young buck I used to be. It was tempting to also allow the little guy to just watch every Bluey and Gigantisorous episode 24/7 just to keep our sanity. But during those days we also were able to learn and teach some valuable lessons.
​

• You can always teach new things: We’re in the phase where he wants to do everything with Daddy. During this time, he learned to shovel, and I learned how to clear snow for a second time, because he didn’t quite grasp the concept…but he learned. We taught him his middle name, along with our Mommy and Daddy names. Small teachings, but big moments. No matter your phase of fatherhood you’re able to have a significant impact in their development even while snowed in.
• We all must do our part at home, and chores can be fun. My wife was gifted a new dust buster for Christmas, which really was a win for this guy. I love vacuuming and seeing those straight lines. It’s almost meditative to me, and I accept the fact that I’m weird. Now the little guy also likes to play with it too. So we began to tag team vacuuming the house. I use the Daddy vacuum and he uses “Tuck’s Vack-coom” where he gets the areas that my back won’t allow me to ben down to get. I’m no longer able to do it without him.
• We’re never too busy to help a neighbor: While we were playing family hide and seek one evening, we noticed a neighbor stuck in our unplowed street outside our house. Naturally, I went out to help dig him from the icy clutches of the street and attempt to give him a push. It wasn’t until I came inside that I learned I had a watch party through the front window. He asked what Daddy was doing and my wife would tell him. For the rest of the night, he talked about me helping someone and how he wants to help people. A lesson he learned without me even knowing. The point is, we’re always teaching lessons as Dads whether we know it or not, especially that we always help a neighbor in need.

​So yeah, my back is strained a bit, but looking back at it shoveling those drives and increased hikeball (a.k.a football) in the living room was totally worth it. He still talks about shoveling and seeing me help push a car. Those are lessons he learned during a time not much was going on. That’s humbling as a parent, as much as realizing I’m not as young and strong as I used to be, but I’m ok with it. 

As Dr. Matthew Sowcik, a recent guest on our podcast said, “humility is….” I recommend you hear what else he shared about the power of humility at home and at work. It’s quite eye opening.