The Firemans

Friday was a big day. I had arranged a trip to the Fire Station for Caedmon and me. The Captain is a longtime family friend, and he was gracious enough to show us around and let Caedmon play on and around all kinds of things. I thought Caedmon would be pretty shy, but once he realized Mr. Phil was a Firefighter, he was good to go.

Caedmon loved getting in the fire trucks. He wanted to “get the keys” and “push the buttons” and “go to McDonald’s.” I don’t think those trucks would fit in the drive-thru.

Caedmon was pretty solemn until Mr. Phil’s grandson, Cade, arrived. Caedmon and Cade had never met, but pretty soon it was like they were old buddies. Which is pretty cool because Cade’s Momma and I are old buddies, even though we haven’t seen each other in forever. (Amanda, let’s do lunch!)

The firemen have a maze they use for training. The boys loved it, and I imagine they had a much easier time navigating the tight spaces than the big guys with all their equipment on.

See? Buddies. (I still cannot get over how much Cade looks like his Momma!)

Learning about how the water goes in and out.

Checking out all the gear.

Getting to wear the Captain’s helmet. (Those things weigh a ton! Well, not literally a ton, but a lot, especially for a little guy. Thus the helping hand.)

 

But then the boys got their own hats that didn’t weigh quite so much. So of course we had to get back into the truck to take a picture with it.

And slide down the fireman’s pole. Caedmon was really weirded out by it at first, but Cade did it, so he had to. Plus, Mr. Phil demonstrating a couple of times helped a bit.

While we were there, the other firemen were around the station, doing whatever firemen do when they’re not fighting fires. Caedmon kept asking, “Where are the firemans?” I would point at them and answer, “Right there, Caedmon!” He would look at them in their blue pants and t-shirts (not in their full fire gear), and wonder if I really knew what I was talking about. He finally decided they were real “firemans” and would tell me, “Momma, those the firemans!”

Many thanks to Mr. Phil and the Fire Department for letting us come visit. You made a boy’s day.