Zach’s obsession with firefighting began when he was just 2 years old. It is his longest lasting interest, spanning the majority of his life. He would have you believe that he isn’t really into firetrucks etc. anymore… he has grown up and diversified his interests. And yes, that is true. Also, his little brother has become obsessed with firefighting as a result of Zach’s obsession, so Zach feels a social requirement to move on so as not to be mere peers with Nathaniel. Clearly, Zach is the big brother, the trailblazer, and the older boy, and his interests should reflect that status.
Rissa got into firetrucks a little bit after Zach did because you have limited options when your primary playmate has one definitive focus. To differentiate herself, she has toyed with being the fire chief, the ambulance driver, the firetruck driver, and a helicopter pilot. She is also interested in emergency helping professions, but she doesn’t want to just blindly go along with her twin. She has been talking about becoming a doctor for so long that I already think of her as Dr. Rissa. She famously told the fire chief in Urbana when she met him that it was okay for him because she will be the chief in Champaign so he can keep his job. His response? “You go for it, Sweetheart.” She also told a group of huge male firefighters at a restaurant that she would be their boss someday because she would be the fire chief. They smiled, called her “sir,” and brought her a menu after that! She comes across as far too girly and sweet to be capable of such a predominantly man-oriented job, but her beautiful face and sweet spirit don’t stand a chance of holding her back! She has a fiery disposition, a well-developed capacity for instant decision making, and she loves to be in charge. She would be an EXCELLENT fire chief and I don’t doubt that she can do absolutely anything she wants. Whenever we visit the firehouse, she scans every photo for “girl firefighters” and drills the men about how many women they have and that they should add one more to that number when she gets there.
As I already stated, Nathaniel picked up the family tradition of firefighter interest soon after his birth. He would never overlook something that his siblings like; they are his model for everything! He often wears his new fire hydrant backpack with accompanying hose around the house, as well as his blinking fire fighter hat (the siren sound that used to accompany the blinky light mysteriously pooped out. Matt claims he didn’t mess with it, but I know he did it for me. Love you too, Sweetie!) He is constantly announcing that I am on fire, then runs to get his axe and his fire extinguisher. It is a wonder that I am alive and well, given that 32 of my years were spent outside of the vigilant protection of Firefighter Nathaniel. How am I catching on fire so often, and more importantly, why don’t I realize it at the time??? We assembled the boys’ new firetruck bunk-bed at the beginning of this month and they are thrilled to sleep where they work.
Our children are blessed to have all 4 grandparents alive right now (I was down to 3 when I was their age), and are SUPER BLESSED that all 4 grandparents dote on them so extensively. Matt and I have to be stingy jerk parents just to compensate for all that loving grandparenting our kids get. Sadly, all 4 grandparents live far away from us. They all put in tons of effort to visit often and to welcome us when we visit, and they love us well from afar. We are so thankful for Miss Kathie and Mr. Frank! It would take some SERIOUS scandal for them to be actual grandparents to our kids (they aren’t old enough to have parented either Matt or I :)), but they love our kids as if they were grandparents. Kathie is so kind and so careful to not tread on the “real” grandmas’ toes, but both my mom and Matt’s mom are thrilled that someone local is loving up these amazing grandkids and they have both thanked Kathie for her kindness to us! I’m sure they wish they could be here too, but since they are not, Kathie to the rescue! She and Frank quickly moved from neighbors next door to family members in our lives, and we LOVE them! And crazy as they must be for this to be true, they LOVE us too. 🙂
Frank and Kathie’s nephew is a volunteer firefighter in a nearby rural community. On Martin Luther King Jr. day, the twins had a day off of preschool and Kathie had the day off of work. So, superstar that she is, she called Tyler and asked if we could come to the fire station and have him show everything to the kids. !!!!! I secretly knew that she hoped we could RIDE in a firetruck, but we weren’t sure if that’s okay. (Zach and Rissa remember when Firefighter Gene told them that they had to be 16 to ride in a moving truck, and they made a pact that very day to spend their 16th birthday getting their drivers’ licenses and riding in a firetruck). But even if we didn’t ride, we would still get to climb everything, touch everything, and do everything. Yay for Mr. Tyler! Yay for Miss Kathie and her fabulous connections to local heroes!
As you know from the title of this post, we DID get to ride in the firetruck! In fact, the only thing we didn’t do was slide down the firepole, but only because they didn’t have one! Rissa said it best, “This might be the BEST DAY EVER!!!” My children tried to stay calm, but as the morning progressed, they couldn’t contain themselves. Tyler was so wonderful with them! He answered all of their questions, he lifted them into and out of and over and under everything, he let them run laps in the fire station to burn off their excessive delight. Kathie and I giggled as Nathaniel stomped around happily squealing, “me too!” to ask Mr. Tyler to help him do whatever Zach and Rissa were doing. Our little Mr. Me Too/Two was beside himself with delight. He talked to Mr. Tyler nonstop because they were “bof figh-fightoes!” and Mr. Tyler turned to me to get the Toddler-to-English translation so that he could carry his end of the conversation. We brought our axes, hats, and fire extinguisher along in case Mr. Tyler needed our help, so Nathaniel was excited that “Mittoh Tywer have dat DUSS WIKE ME, Mommy!” Zach tried to play it cool as if this was no big deal, but that lasted exactly 3 minutes. After that, he was Mr. Tyler’s biggest fan and wanted to do everything that he could do. Rissa grilled Mr. Tyler with important questions about why he had a teddy bear in the truck and was very impressed that he brings it in case a small child loses their belongings in a fire and needs an animal to snuggle. That’s EXACTLY what she would want if she were in that situation!
Kathie and I were entirely impressed with Tyler. He knows EVERYTHING about firefighting! Rural firefighting requires so many extra equipment units and supplies… you can’t assume that there will be water nearby. They have a giant tanker to bring water to a fire site, they have a pump and set of special hosing to connect a water retention pond to their equipment, they have a giant inflatable raft to make their own retention pond if necessary. None of the city staples of society are available, so these volunteer firefighters have to know how to operate 6 different trucks and all of the specialized equipment inside, as well as carry extra gear (like the 80 lb. pumps) beyond the 65 lbs. worth of protective-wear and 30 lbs. worth of oxygen tank equipment that urban firefighters have on. My kids are convinced that Mr. Tyler can do anything, and I have to say – I totally believe it too! He is amazing. And all of this is as volunteer status… they get paid a set amount for the number of calls they answer and hold other jobs, family commitments, and life responsibilities on top of their firefighting! Unbelievable heroes, all of them!
Let’s get to the pictures. You’ll squeal and oooo and ahhhh over the cuteness, so try to keep it down so as not to disturb your neighbors while you see all of this awesomeness!
After our morning of awesome, Miss Kathie extended the fun by taking us out to lunch for pizza at Monical’s. Nathaniel was so overwhelmed by the excitement of his day (which I suspect could become his first memory) that he crashed asleep in the car and we had to wake him to eat lunch! Our day was delightful in every way! Zach asked Mr. Tyler if we could schedule this for EVERY Monday! So adorable. When I pointed out that they usually have school on Mondays, Zach switched his request to “every Saturday?” Rissa agreed, “because then Daddy could come with us and wouldn’t have to go to work and miss it! Or… Mommy, you could work at a job, you know a REAL job, so that Daddy could stay home with us and get to do all these fun things!” Apparently, I enjoy my mothering job too much, because my kids think it’s all fun and games for me, just like it is for them. 🙂
