Well, you probably thought you would see pictures of a Big Boy on a super-elevated curve with wonderful scenery… unfortunately not yet. BUT, today my son reminded me that life is truly about the journey. It was the first time he could truly help me (beyond carrying me tools and watching). It brought a tear to my eye and really reminded me why I do all this. The sheer joy in his eyes and the spontaneous, “Papa, I love you” during made all the worries of the week go away. Anyways, I thought I would share the fun pic (and hope you all can share those of your kids helping this weekend!).
Reminds me of when my Grandpa took me to work with him at Sears and Roebuck( remember those days???) at Christmastime and put me with the guy who ran all the Lionel trains in the streetside display windows!
I’m now 55, yet that was my inspiration into trains!
That’s a sweet story, Brian! [:)][tup] From the picture, I can see the joy in his face. (And MUCH better than any picture of a UP Big Boy!) Wishing you many more “episodes” like the one you two had today. Thanks for sharing…
Maybe he can start to teach us a thing or two. Brings back all those wonderful memories of my children helping me when they were at that age. They get older and are busy with their own lives.
Brian, you are a man after my own heart. This is absolutely what it is all about. My boys current favorite activity is weathering freight cars. There is nothing more fun than getting them involved and away from the TV, PlayStation or what ever other electronic device is the attraction of the day. We will be weathering tomorrow, so I will try and remember to snap a shot.
Thanks all for the kind words… just could not help but be a proud papa with him. He is a good kid… I dread the day he grows up and gets so busy, but I am sure I will be proud of him for other things then. I am pretty lucky that I get to spend a lot of time with my kids and hopefully give them a great foundation!!! (in trains of course!!!). Have a great weekend.
You are one lucky guy, not just because you have such a beautiful son but because you have taken the time to recognize that fact and are enjoying the moment. By spending time with your son right now and having fun together, you will be setting the stage for a lifetime of fantastic moments together. I can tell by the smile in your son’s face that he knows he has a dad that loves him…be sure to ALWAYS let him know how special he is and let him make mistakes and learn from them. If he breaks something, let him know it’s okay and that nothing is so important to get in the way of having fun.
One of the biggest problems I have trying to enjoy this hobby of ours is that I’m always afraid of screwing something up. The phrase I use is “breaking my toy”. You see, when I was around 5 years old, my mom was dressing me up to go outside and play and I was jumping up and down on the bed due to my excitement. Well, I landed on my favorite toy rifle and broke it. My dad grabbed me by my hands, laid me on the bed and beat me until I was peeing in my pants and then left me there in my room to cry for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I still worry about “breaking my toy” every time I’m working on my hobby. Even though dad is dead now and he can’t beat me for breaking my toy, I’m still afraid.
So, what I’m trying to say is that whatever you do right now with your son, the result will last a lifetime. Play trains with him and have fun, even if he messes something up and you’ll develop a child who not only loves you but will have a great future because he won’t be afraid to challenge himself and won’t be worried about messing up. The only people who don’t screw something up are people who do nothing. Great people charge ahead without worrying about making a mistake.
Great pic, Ivan. Did your son build that scene next to him? And mondo, thanks for the excellent reply. One of the hardest thing as a parent is to let your kid make mistakes AND not get too mad/upset. I never realized how good my dad was at that until I became a parent. It is a fine balance of letting them make mistakes and protecting them, isn’t it? Thanks for the reminder! And yes, most of us probably started because of times like this with our dad’s or grandpa’s. Ciao!
Brian, Thanks for the compliment, but that’s my GRANDson!! John is 10 1/2, and has ADD & some other issues, but yes he did help with the Christmas scene. He was just here for the weekend and asked me to “take down the Christmas things so we can put some new things down” Started yesterday on my “new” Revell Schoolhouse (at least 24+ years old) and that will be a therapy thing for him as he has a problem with a bully - even though he out weighs him by 20 lbs!
Our kids were all teenagers when I kinda got into model trains and were never really interested in them. Besides I spent most my time working to feed 6 kids, so there was much time for playing.
Now we have have 22 grandkids and most of them like to help grandpa at least run them. It’s not the trains the kids like bout grandma and grandpa’s, but every thing else, helping bake cookies, or working in the garden or, just spending time with them. Once in awhile you might even be able to teach them something bout themselves, without them even knowing it.
My daughter is only 1.5 years old, but I can’t wait for her to want to help daddy. She already likes to sit with me and watch the trains, it’s almost time to get her some Thomas the engine stuff so she doesn’t wreck daddies stuff for now.
Thanks for sharing, I’m sure it was a wonderful day.
Both my sons love the hobby too, although the younger one is just 2. My older boy, seen here, is 4, and can handle a Digitrax DT400 throttle like a pro!
Great pic… I am SOOOO waiting for my son to be old enough. He turns 4 this summer and I am planning on buying an extra throttle for him!!! Glad to know that others have done this.
Jake and I often work a local freight together. He works the throttle while I hand-signal him and work the uncoupling pick. He’s very smart for his age, and seems to have very good fine motor skills. He has all the makings of a model railroader!
No, not really. Most of my freight engines are very low-geared to begin with. He knows for the passenger engine (the E8) not to go above 32 (he knows his numbers well, and is starting to figure out some simple math). He also knows with the 2-8-2 that, depending on its load, it shouldn’t go past 45.
He’s not interested in speed, if you can believe it. He’d rather spot a boxcar with the door lined up perfectly at the machine tool factory than race around the layout. He’ll even tell me if he thinks I’m running a bit fast!
Your lucky… [:P] . My son LOVE speed (his dad talks and thinks a million miles a minute, go figure). I plan to start my son out with an old AHM RSC-2 (got it for $10 on ebay) with REAL low crawl speeds…we shall see!
