Our home owners association threw their annual BBQ/neighborhood party the other day. It's a fun event to attend because it gives you an excuse to talk to neighbors and they usually have some things for the kids to do. This year the HOA hired a party company to bring a lot of party equipment for the kids -- one of which was a 25 foot, inflatable slide.
Aidan couldn't take his eyes of the slide. He refused to eat and kept running over to it wanting to slide down with all the other kids. His behavior was a little surprising considering it usually takes some prompting to try new things. Finally I took him over to the slide and helped him to the top. I was worried that he was going to freak out once we got to the top. But Aidan was so excited he grabbed my hand and started sliding. He laughed all the way to the bottom.
At the bottom Aidan started jumping up and down and said "Again! Again! Again!" We stood in line and in a few minutes found ourselves again at the top of the slide. We slid down and once again Aidan acted as if it was the most fun thing he had done in the short two years he's been alive. Needless to say, we spend the entire evening going up and down the slide until the party ended.
That night as I put him in bed, all Aidan could talk about was the slide and fun it was. I leaned down and kiss his forehead and said, "I had a lot of fun too." It was true. Seeing Aidan so happy made my week. It's moments like this that make being a dad so great.