I think that anyone who has raised children will tell you that anything can and does happen.
Once upon a time, due to my physical condition and progressive nature of muscular dystrophy, I believed that having children was a bad idea for me. I had all kinds of negative thoughts about my physical ability to be a father, and I worried that I would pass and leave my kid or kids behind while they were still young. I truly felt it would be unfair to bring kids into my world and subject them to all kinds of medical stuff and the burden of guilt that comes with it. Thankfully, Vanessa helped me to realize that I was wrong. I was SO wrong, and I am not sure that she will ever know how much her love and support of us having a family has meant to me. In fact, her gift of wanting to raise a family with me is quite possibly the most beautiful thing that another human being has done to show me that living with a disability doesn’t matter to those who love openly and fully. Our boys are currently ages 10 and just about 8, and now I cannot imagine my world without them.
I do not write this post to pull on your heart strings; instead I write to share some hysterical observations that have been unleashed upon the world from the next generation of Moeschen. I believe that my boys have received all of the important genetics without the mutations…well, the muscle ones at least. Below, in no particular order, is why I not only love my kids, but also LIKE my kids. I have attempted to give you the age of when these things were said…
Tim (age 4) in the backseat of the car, looking out the window:
Me: “Hey buddy what are you thinking about?”
Tim: “I am wondering if all the trees on Earth came from a few seeds and just blew around and were all planted randomly.”
Me: “Not sure pal, but they had to spread around somehow. Good theory and good thinking.”
1 minute later…
Me: “Are you still thinking about the trees out there?”
Tim: “No, I’m thinking it would really be cool to have your butt on the top of your head, because then when you had to poop you could just lean into the toilet.”
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Ted (age 7): “Daddy, remember that girl at school that used to follow me around at recess when I was in kindergarten? She used to make me push her on the swings and play games that only she wanted to play?”
Me: “I think so. Why do you ask?”
Ted: “Well, she’s in my class again this year, but now she has her own friend group, so she leaves me alone. But daddy, in kindergarten she was ruthless!”
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Last night we broke out the Yoda waffle iron. Yes, it’s a thing. Vanessa was testing it out and showing the kids how to mix and pour the waffle batter into the device. Tim asked her if the first waffle was just a “prototype.”
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While watching one of the new Disney Star Wars shows a few months ago, Tim (age 10) is glued to the screen as some young Jedi is getting pulled out of a burning building while dead bodies lay scattered about. I began to worry if this was a little too much for him when he turned to me with a grin on his face and said: “Wow, daddy…..tough childhood.”
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Last week I was sitting up in bed in the morning leaning forward to stretch out my back. Ted came running in from the bathroom and jumped on me as if getting ready for a piggyback. As he hugged his arms around my neck he says: “Daddy, I have no pants on and my nuts are touching you….just so you know.” Teddy is 7. I weep for the future.
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Summer of 2023: we have a box of 12 ice cream cones in our freezer. Teddy goes in there and sees one remaining. He takes it, closes the empty box and leaves it in there, saying nothing. A few days later, I go in for a cone and find said empty box..
Me: “Hey! Who took the last cone? Who took the last cone and left the box in the freezer?”
Ted, looking guilty: “I bet it was Tim, daddy.”
Tim: “No way! It was all Ted. I think we should sell him.”
Me: “TED! You took the last cone, left the box, and didn’t even share with me? Wow.”
Ted (laughing): “Daddy, it was the best heist of my life!”
He was 6 at this time. Vanessa and I are so screwed, but then again, if we can channel and harness this wit, we may be able to live off both of them when they are adults. So it goes.
Stay safe, stay awesome and stay tuned.
Moeschen! 