Passionate parenting

Jakob jokingly said I should write something about him and so here it is. When I first met Jakob he played two to three hours of basketball a day. Not competitively, though of course it was competitive, but passionately. Despite his Canadian upbringing and strong but brief career in the hockey world basketball was the sport which left him glowing. And often bruised and bloody - though any battle scar from the court were a matter of pride as well. When we did our big hike we were walking 10 hours a day and Jakob still often talked about how out of shape he was because he hadn't been on a basketball court in months. And then Jakob chose a life and career path that left him less time to play basketball. And more importantly as he sat in front of a computer for more of his day he became a member of the bad back club. Basketball is not a sport which is gentle on the lower back so like most reasonable adults who are part of this notorious club Jakob broadened his exercise tastes and began running and swimming. For the last half year his back has been much worse and he has had to give up even those gentler forms of exercise and live with a lot of discomfort and nostalgia. And this is all sounding really rambly and sad and Jakob is going to regret having asked me to write anything about him. But this is not a sad story and this is not the point of the story.

 

Actually the point is that Jakob is a passionate man. He might feel like his back and work life doesn't allow him time for hobbies but when you look at what a hobby actually is (activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure) I would say that being with his children is a hobby. And why shouldn't parenting be a hobby? Is it any less noble than making airplanes out of wood, taking pictures of flowers or perfecting yoga poses? And I am not talking about obsessive hovering parenting here I am talking about doing things because they bring pleasure and joy. Jakob is a great parent. He is the sort of father who will tell four hour long stories to get children to hike. He is patient and attentive. He is the sort of father who will run around on a beach screaming loudly behind his children because his four year old is the leader and decided running around screaming is the way to go. He will make games using scrabble Tiles to get Tova familiar with letters. He will stand in the cold for hours teaching children to ice skate using song and dance and slapstick humour (he falls intentionally a lot) even knowing his back will hurt later. And just like basketball they do make him glow and they too give him battle scars he can show off. And really chasing after a two year old and throwing kids in the air is quite a lot of exercise. And unlike basketball Jakobs hobby loves him back immensely and truly. And maybe we all have passions and hobbies we didn't even realize were there.

Friends going for a birthday swim

Seems pretty happy to be on a mountain with his family on his birthday

Somehow even wall stickers of beaches are soothing