One thing the Knudsen kids discovered during our holiday trip to the British Virgin Islands is their Dad’s love of sailing! Every chance he got to sail the catamaran, Brent was like a little kid with a new toy! Captain Terry sometimes preferred the simplicity of using the boat’s motor but Brent was gung-ho to use the sails as often as possible.
I was thinking the other day how children know some things about their parents but there are lots of things they don’t know. It’s easy for kids to forget their dad actually had a life for years and years before he was ever their father.
For instance, my Dad was a US Naval officer on aircraft carriers in the Korean War and it’s a part of his life I know next to nothing about. It’s my own error in not bothering to learn about his time overseas and I need to be a better daughter about paying attention to things that are important to my father.
Watching Brent giddy with excitement in the sailor role traces back to life experiences before any of his children were born. After Brent spent a semester at BYU-Hawaii he sailed back to the mainland living the life of a true sailor. It was during the those days at sea that Brent read The Book of Mormon for the first time and made the monumental decision to serve a mission. So it’s easy to understand why sailing is associated with great memories for Brent; his sailing days were transforming and literally changed the course of his life.
So, while Brent’s sailing days lately are few and far between, he’s clearly a better father because of discoveries he made out sailing, long before he ever had kids.
