Dads May Miss Heyday Hobbies, But Fatherhood Lets You Dream
June 16th, 2008, 5:46 pm Hobbies News
First look at his beloved drum kit, which once held court in its very own music room surrounded by other instruments and musical equipment. It’s now stacked in the corner of our guest room, rarely played with force anymore, as such passionate solos have been deemed too loud for our 1-year-old son’s sensitive ears.
Then check out that former music room, which is now a sunny yellow and filled with Haba blocks and bedtime books and a stuffed rocking caterpillar that sings “You Are My Sunshine.”
Next, peek into my husband’s garage (I never pretended it also was mine), once pristine and organized with enough room to park a car and work under its hood. It now is a glorified baby storage shed, holding two strollers, a wagon, a child’s bike seat, a kiddie pool and several large toys our son has outgrown. It hasn’t seen a vehicle inside its walls for months.
So you’ll have to backtrack to the driveway to look at his car. It’s a 2001 Chevy Blazer — a mild, child-friendly sport utility vehicle with airbags and A/C and a carseat base securely strapped to the backseat. It’s sitting right where his beloved 1983 Scottsdale stepside pickup used to be. She was a rare midnight blue beauty with a small-block 305 engine with a full Edelbrock manifold and carb setup. She roared like thunder. She also had no seat belt on the passenger side, no heat or A/C, and no place for a carseat. So she had to go.
I admit I was a little curious — all right, concerned — about what parenthood would do to all of my husband’s hobbies and interests. Sports, music, cars, these things are important to him. He’s the type who likes to be outside, who stays busy, who always has the next big purchase in mind for whatever pastime he’s currently focused on.
And I knew that fatherhood would ask a lot of him. I knew it would suck up his free time, take away his ability to be guiltlessly self-indulgent, and squeeze out — at least temporarily — some of the hobbies and rituals he thought made him who he was.
I know the day will come when our son is old enough to have friends and hobbies of his own, when there will be more time for my husband to use that fishing rod more often, and perhaps buy (back) the truck of his dreams.
Tags: airbags, backseat, bedtime books, bike seat, chevy blazer, dad, dads, edelbrock manifold, fish, fishing, Hobbies, Hobbies And Interests, lace, large toys, mild child, own music, passion, pool, sensitive ears, sport utility vehicle, sports, sports music, stepside pickupRelated posts
