Warm Winds

“Daddy…” the little girl said to her father while tugging on his overcoat.

“Come on Daddy…let’s go back and get our kite!” she continued.

The father rolled his eyes as he stopped walking. “By the time we turn around, walk back to our house, then walk to the park the wind will have died down. It’s just not a very smart thing to do Lucy.”

Lucy frowned at her father’s words but knew he was probably right. He always had an answer to any question or comment she had, and she was getting used to the rejections from him. He was a teacher at a big college school, so he probably knew best.

Lucy kicked at the grass that grew between the gaps of the sidewalk. “Okay…”

The man looked down at his daughter and puffed out his cheeks. “Fine,” he said as he blew out the stored air. “Let’s go back and get your kite. Who knows, maybe the meteorologist in me is wrong.”

Lucy jumped up and down with joy as he turned around to retrace their steps home. “Thank you Daddy!” she screamed in joy.

As they walked back to their house, the warm wind started to die down. The little girl was saddened because she now knew her father was right, and they had wasted their park time going back to the house to get a, now useless, kite.

“Sit down on the steps while I go in and get your kite,” he said to her. He glanced down before proceeding up the steps and seen the sadness on her face. He smiled before proceeding up the stairs.

As she waited out on the steps, the warm wind ceased all together. She was about to stand up to tell her father never mind when he stepped out of the house. He had changed from his overcoat, dress slacks, and penny loafer shoes to his jogging outfit and his bright green running shoes.

She looked up at him with a curious look on her face. “Daddy, why did you change? Are you going for a run after the park?”

“No dear, I’ll explain when we get to the park,” he replied.

They walked the few blocks back to the park at their normal Sunday stroll pace. When they arrived at the park, she saw a lot of other dads holding kites in their arms as their kids ran around playing.

“Looks like you weren’t the only one who thought of bringing a kite,” the father said.

Lucy stared at the ground as she said, “Yeah but the wind isn’t blowing anymore so it’s pointless now. I’m sorry daddy, I should have listened to you.”

The father crouched as he started unwinding the kite’s string. “No Lucy, I was wrong. There is wind…can’t you feel it?”

Lucy shook her head as she looked around, looking at the far off trees to see if their leaves rustled. When she looked back at her dad, he had a huge smile.

“Oh really? Then why can the kite fly like this!” he said as he started running as fast as he could. The kite raised in the air as he ran around in a zigzag type of design. The kite rose higher and higher. He suddenly stopped, panting, as his daughter came running after him.

“Daddy it’s flying!” she squealed in delight.

“You see, just because there isn’t wind where we would NORMALLY fly a kite, doesn’t mean there isn’t wind higher than that.” he said between his breaths. All of the other kids in the park came running towards us saying things like “Oh wow, Whoa, It’s so high!”

The other dads came walking towards the small group as the kids began to chase the kite’s shadow.

“Well that’s fantastic…now all of our kids will want us running around like a fool to get their kite in the sky.” one of them said to Lucy’s dad.

“Well if you won’t act like a kid and run around, then I will.” he replied. He grabbed one of the kites out of the nearest man’s arm and started running as he unwound the kite’s string.

“YAY DADDY!” Lucy screamed after him.

The other kids laughed and ran after Lucy’s dad just as the wind started picking back up.