August 6, 2006

Being a “Daddy kayaker”

It was almost two years ago when I was having my conversation with EJ about being a member the “Jackson Kayak Ambassador Team”. For forty-two years I had been kid-less. For nearly 15 years, I had been paddling at least 75 days per year and spending what seemed like every day off work boating or headed to or from a river somewhere in the western US or Canada. I was nailing at least one Grand Canyon trip a year, and loving life.

Anyway, back to the day when I was talking with EJ. That same day, just before my conversation with EJ, my wife (Rebecca) and I had accepted an adoption referral for a three month old baby boy from South Korea. I was scared. My relationship with my wife was centered around boating and the outdoors. (Yes, it was one of those sad cases where the kayak instructor gets married to the student and lives happily ever after.) All my friends and coworkers couldn’t stop telling me how my life would change so dramatically once I became a daddy. “You can forget about kayaking,” they’d say.

Just before Christmas 2004, we met and brought home Hyun Soo, who would be named Cedar. Two months later, my Superstar arrived. At seven months old, Cedar thought the Superstar was the coolest toy ever to hit a living room. He crawled in and out of it, exploring the massive cockpit. When he started to talk, his first word was “uh-oh!”. Soon after, he produced the most beautiful second word a daddy could hear: “boat!”. Now, at two years old, he stands at the door saying “boats!”, and asks to go to the garage to play in them. Ah yes, we’ve got a good kid.
Looking back to that first year, it’s true there was some adjustment. Nevertheless, I still managed to hit seventy-four days on the water, including two Grand trips. And now it’s even better. Cedar loves to jump into the cockpit in an eddy or pool and paddle with me. Rebecca and I have learned to adjust our paddling schedule while having Cedar in tow. If we don’t have childcare, we split the run. One of us will do the first half of the river while the other plays with Cedar and hikes in to a mid point for an exchange. Cedar gets so excited when he sees one of us appear from around a corner, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Mommy, Mommy! Hi Mommy, hi Mommy!” Of course, it helps that he really loves “hiking”. For the most part, he doesn’t want to be carried (which is good when you’re already packing your kayak and gear).

One crucial thing we have going for us is very strong family support. Relatives are always anxious to watch Cedar. Grandpa and Grandma are frequently calling it see if we have any extended tips lined up so they can watch and play with their only grandson.

At two, he’s not quite ready for his own Fun 1 yet (although he is telling us he wants a yellow boat), so our most recent project was aimed at appeasing his desire for his own boat. Hence, the kayak wagon!
Every boy needs a red wagon. With some help from JK, I was able to get a red Fun 1.5 and build the coolest wagon any boy has ever had. He can use this in the yard or at the beach, and can even help haul gear at the put in.

Rebecca and I were determined that our new life with Cedar would still have a very large outdoors and boating component. Will Cedar grow up to be a kayaker? That’s up to him. We are not going to force him into anything. We will share with him our love of the sport and outdoors. Yes, there have been changes (and even a Grand Canyon trip passed on due to the grandparents being out of the country), but we are proving that with just a little effort and planning, your paddling life doesn’t have to end when you have a kid.

Andy Graham aka Kayakmedic