“Where the heck have you been!!”
She yelled at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. 😭
I didn’t know what to say.
I was in shock! 😲
I wasn’t sure what I had done wrong! “What do you mean? Where have you two been?”
“Oh my gosh, you’re ok!”
She exclaimed, ignoring my question but sounding relieved as she ran to me hugging me tighter than a grizzly bear. “I’m never letting you go!”
“Of course I’m OK. What happened!? Are you OK?”
I asked her as I pried her off with a confused look, desperate to know if everything really was OK. 😕
“I thought you had fallen OFF the waterfall!”
Her relief started to turn to anger. “Where were YOU? You scared me!!!” 😠
“I’ve just been waiting for you at the hut,”
I explained, pointing back down the track as I tried to calm her down. “It’s a great view from the balcony. You must have passed it on the way up.”
The anger in her eyes was quickly replaced with a frustrated look as she took a deep breath and hugged me again. 😤
“Can we please go now?” She whispered sounding exhausted. 😩
It was hot, it had been a long day, we were ALL exhausted and emotions were running high.
It was easy to tell the emotional rollercoaster of the last half an hour of looking for me, thinking I had fallen OFF a waterfall to my DEATH, had taken its toll on her…
I pulled her in tight and spoke quietly, “I’m really, REALLY sorry I made you worry! I should have waited for you on the track.” Another deep breath from Larissa as a sign she accepted my apology.
I continued; “Let’s head back and we’ll walk together this time. 🤝 It’ll be faster on the way back anyway...”
OR SO I THOUGHT…
“Ummm… you may have to carry me,”
she murmured as she looked up at me sheepishly. 😅
“Wait. What!? WHY?”
I demanded, looking more confused than ever.
My wife, Larissa, sister-in-law Cheri, and I had been hiking the Routeburn Track on the South Island of New Zealand.
(An incredible hike and only a couple hours from Queenstown - highly recommend 👌)
This was pre-kids and we had optimistically estimated that we’d hike to the Routeburn Falls and back within 4, maybe 5 hours - even though the sign suggested it would take 6.
After all, we were pretty fit, and there were no kids with us..
(As in “zero” kids. I know, it’s hard to believe we were ever without them sometimes.)
Well.
The story’s not over folks.
When I retell this story at family gatherings, we barely mention my hypothetical near-death experience, no no 🙅♂️.
Instead,
the highlight is always Larissa’s choice of footwear for this fateful hike. 🤷♀️
You see, on the spectrum of function to style, I almost always go for function, only occasionally leaning (only a little) back towards style when the occasion calls for it.
So of course I was wearing hiking boots.
Quality hiking boots! 🥾
Cheri (being a scientist) likes leaning towards the practical/functional side as well and brought her hiking boots too. 🥾
Larissa on the other hand…
BRAND NEW NIKES. 👟
🤦♂️
And being a trooper 💪, she hadn’t mentioned anything…
Until now…
But,
we still had half a hike to go!
Let’s just say,
the hike back down the mountain was painful to watch.
Cheri and I took turns giving Larissa piggybacks until she refused to burden us. 🙅♀️
(We were all exhausted after all).
I gave her the innersoles from my highly ergonomic shoes to put in her shoes.
Too little,
too late…
She even tried no shoes for a little while, but…
Leeches.
But, eventually…
SEVEN HOURS after we set out on our
optimistic “4, maybe 5 hour” hike…
THE SUN SET… ✨
And a little while after that,
we made it back! 🙌
And even though she was in tremendous pain,
at least her feet looked good! 😅
Hold your horses! I hear you Jeremy; “what’s this got to do with your new Dad Bag Prototype, Jeremy!?”
Calm down!
I’m getting there.
Fortunately for you, Larissa and I balance each other out in a lot of ways.
And this goes for FUNCTION vs DESIGN too!
(As you can tell from our Routeburn Track endeavour.)
And if anything, with time (almost 15 years together - or half our lives!) we’ve learnt from each other.
I’m way more stylish than I used to be (apparently).
And,
I know Larissa always thinks twice before deciding what shoes to wear out of the house these days...
“Why is this fortunate for me?” you ask.
Good question, Jeremy!
Well, our upcoming Dad Certified Backpack HAS to be absolutely perfect!
Afterall,
Mr. Perfectionist over here is the brain behind it. 🙋♂️
Perfect in FUNCTION and DESIGN!
My perfect Dad Bag has a spot for EVERYTHING I need with seemingly Mary Poppins (or Tardis) like space. 👜
My perfect Dad Bag has everything within EASY REACH so that I can quickly whip out the essential stuff at a moment's notice. From bottles and hats to wipes and nappies, just like that! 🎩🐇
My perfect Dad Bag is SUPER COMFY to wear, yes more comfy than a pair of bonds’ finest. 🩲
And,
My perfect Dad Bag LOOKS GOOD! At least to the “common man”. (Not a full-blown military bag but definitely not a MUM bag!) 🎒
And while our first Dad Bag prototype came close in many of these areas…
I am NOT satisfied! 👎
At least not yet.
Here’s what it looks like so far:
(Don’t worry, we’re not sticking with this colour, or quite that shape)
