Reconstruction of Memory - "Family Friendly"

I can’t believe it. Yesterday, my oldest, Jaden left home for his final year at Penn. He is well on track towards attaining a Bachelor’s in Political Science. Let alone with a 4.0 GPA. As a parent, I wanted to expose my children to history and current events at a young age. Thus, every weekend throughout Jaden’s last weekend home, you can find Jaden, me, and the rest of the family on adventures to different protests, demonstrations, or historical sites. This not only provided for some of the best, funniest, most adorable memories, it is probably the very reason Jaden is doing what he is.

When Jaden was about six, I heard that the local Naval Air Station was hosting an airshow. Well, I thought that was cool, considering we’ll get to see some of the resources our military has at its disposal. It shouldn’t be too intense to take the kids there; airshows are fairly safe, and family friendly. At least that’s what the show was being advertised as. So the family and I decided to make the trip.

After the skydivers landed with the American flag, a group of fighter jets took off. It was so precious watching Jaden, my youngest see his first fighter jet. His eyes lit up, as what he keeps seeing on the news is now in front of his own eyes. After about 5 minutes, the fighter jets started circling around the field, imitating vultures scoping their prey. Soon, one of the fighters dove in, and fiery pyrotechnics blasted from the ground.

“Oh my god, we’re all going to die. Run, Run,” Jaden screamed. It was hard to take him seriously. “Dad, come here. Run! Run!” he added. But looking at his panicked face, you could tell he was legitimately scared. Embarrassment took me over, as I had just selfishly and blindly taken my two under 6-year-old kids to an airshow. I had just committed the original sin of parenting, and I felt like I need to be put on time out.

That memory has stood the test of time, with myself not being able to live it down. While I may not have been the perfect parent, I still cherish every memory made with the smartest young man I’ve met. I hope that Jaden leaves his impression on the world.