A Day With Dad And Uncle Tom By Sheila Robins 11yo 121 [2021] May 2026

After breakfast, we headed out to the old creek behind the Miller farm. Dad had been talking about building a raft for weeks. He brought a stack of old wooden pallets and a huge roll of twine. Uncle Tom just shook his head and pulled out a toolkit and some heavy-duty rope from his truck. We spent three hours tying logs and boards together. I got to use the hammer, which made me feel like a real builder. Dad kept calling us the Three Musketeers of the River.

A Day with Dad and Uncle Tom by Sheila Robins 11yo 121 Saturday started with the smell of blueberry pancakes and the sound of Uncle Tom laughing in the kitchen. My dad was trying to flip a pancake behind his back, which usually ends with a mess on the floor, but Uncle Tom caught it with a plate like a pro. That is how most of our days go when they are together. Dad is the one with the big ideas, and Uncle Tom is the one who actually makes sure we don't get in trouble.

By the afternoon, we were starving, so we pulled the raft to the bank and started a small fire. Dad is the king of hot dogs, and Uncle Tom is the master of toasted marshmallows. We sat on a fallen log and talked about school and what I want to be when I grow up. They didn't treat me like a little kid; they listened like I was just one of the guys. Dad said that no matter what I do, I should always remember the way the sun looks on the water today.

As the sun started to set, we walked back home through the woods. My legs were tired, and my hands were a little scratched up from the wood, but I didn't care. Being with Dad and Uncle Tom is always an adventure. They are different in a lot of ways, but when they are together, everything feels fun and safe. We ended the day on the porch with cold sodas, watching the fireflies come out. It was a perfect day, and I hope we build an even bigger raft next time.

The launch was the best part. We pushed the raft into the water, and for a second, I thought it was going to sink. It wobbled and groaned, but then it leveled out. We all climbed on, and it actually held our weight. We didn't go very fast, just drifting with the slow current, but it felt like we were exploring a whole new world. Uncle Tom told stories about when he and Dad were kids and how they once tried to build a treehouse that fell down the first time a bird landed on it.