September 16, 2004 - Thursday
I took the boys canoeing again this afternoon and it didn't go so as well. It's wasn't terrible or anything, but the boys were less excited and, thus, more troublesome and in hindsight it's easy to see why. I put the canoe in the water with the intent of trying to go far enough up-river to see an old bridge. It was a classic mistake. Like so many things with the boys, it's not about here we are going, and certainly not about what I want, but rather about keeping up the interest at every moment along the way. When they are finding things, looking at things, or discovering things, that's when it's exciting. The next time we go out it will be on a smaller pond or river. There will be less need to serious paddle, and more freedom to dip their own paddles in the water without direction and correction from me. Harry does try to actually paddle a little, but his attention span is not that long for such things and it's more important to just have him enjoy being out on the water.


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