Childhood and the act of parenting are many times filled with countless moments of thrill seeking and adventure. Although reserved by nature, I have been known over the years to join with my children as they engage their adventurous side, holding on with all I had, in an attempt to bolster their exploration while simultaneously maintaining a grip on my own sanity ensuring that no outward signs of fear or apprehension were evident. For as we all know, a dad must constantly be on guard, to ensure their provider, protector image remained intact throughout every moment.

          I remember when my eldest child, Natalie, was in her teens and she and I would attempt to go on Saturday adventures, One Saturday we chose to make the short journey to an area widely known as Rocky Falls. The area was a beautiful, National Parks maintained, venue where adventurers could enjoy exploring the beautiful swimming pond, climbing the rocky water fall area which covered a seeming endless expanse, or simply enjoy the view of the creation which lay before you. As we ventured forward the dad in me flowed forth as I felt it was necessary to prepare my child for every possible hazard we may face upon our arrival.  

          As we drove to the area, my mind couldn’t retreat from the fact that recently, our small city had three young children which had been bitten by venomous snakes. This weighed heavily on my mind, knowing that we would be exploring an outdoor recreation area where it wasn’t uncommon to cross paths with reptiles. As we approached the falls parking area Natalie continued voicing her understanding at my repeated warnings about the dangers of the outdoors.

          Departing our vehicle, the excitement grew as we began the short journey to the recreation area. In the lead, as any good father would be, I continued to bombard poor Natalie with warnings and guidance about the difficulty seeing snakes and the need to be cognizant of our surroundings. I remember looking down to the pathway describing to her how this area is difficult because the common snakes in our area blend well so paying attention was a must.  As I continued driving the subject home, the words which came out of Natalie’s mouth, as we approached the half- way point on the trail, would become the foundation for a multitude of emotions including fear, embarrassment, and concern.   

          The words Natalie expressed were simply that as we walked, and I spoke about paying attention and looking intently for snakes, I had stepped on a venomous copperhead snake. Natalie and I froze in our positions and as I turned towards her, standing mere feet away, I observed the small snake flopping around in an evident showing of pain, confusion, and anger. The snake remained alive and directly in the path between my child and me. As I stood in a state of shock over what had transpired, I had a difficult time coming up with a safe resolution. That darn snake remained in our path, growing ever more angry at the fact that a big ol boy just stepped on his head. Escape to the side was futile as both sides were heavily wooded and surely filled with the little guy’s buddies.  It was then that I devised the greatest dad plan known to man. After carefully inspecting the side of the path I located a fallen limb, small enough to effectively utilize yet large enough to provide a cushion of protection from the reptiles waiting fangs.

          It was then that I gently, ok in all reality not so gently but more in the fashion of drunk, crazed prehistoric warrior mode, picked up the snake with the limb, launching him outward to the great wooded unknown where he could recover from his surely likewise embarrassing experience. Once the path between my daughter and I was clear we went about our adventure. To say it was enjoyable would be a lie. I remember the rest of the short journey consisted of a fake smile, hypervigilant watching and truly anxiety filled series of moments where enjoying the trip had fallen along the wayside about the same time as the shadow of the great white sneaker descended upon that little snake minding his own business along the trail at Rocky Falls.

          Thinking about the adventure Natalie and I had that day reminded me that throughout life, many times we are committed to look intently at events, people, and situations in hopes that the truth in any given situation revels itself. There are times that looking simply doesn’t reveal the true nature and situation which lies before us. Looking simply is the act of directing our eyes in a particular direction while seeing is becoming aware. Our adventure found me looking intently for any dangers but failing to truly be aware of potential dangers. May our days be filled with awareness as well as direction. For therein lies the benefits of a true adventure.