Dhlewis, you probably have a few more bumps, splints and bandaides before you catch up with some of us, so I hope you keep at it with the kids. I did a lot with my kids, but they didn’t take to the kayak. My youngest daughter and her husband are outdoor committed with camping and hiking. They kayak all around, but only went once with me. My oldest daughter and her two daughters have picked up kayaking and I thing they have potential. I supply their gear. They’ll learn the dead horse roll. That’s when I’ll let them teach me.
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I’ve hit an interesting divide where my twins are thinking I’m getting smarter by the day (they’re 19, now) and my freshly-minted-11-year-old is thinking i’m the strangest thing this side of Happy Meadows Asylum. (Since I consider myself to be an intelligent lunatic, I guess they can both be right…) But, on the upside, my daughters are both kayaking with me. My older daughter is taking way more interest in it than I thought she would. I’m very, very jazzed about that! And, my younger daughter will still venture out w/me, though over the last couple of months, there’s been a noticeable down turn in frequency of participation on her part…sigh. I’m hoping she won’t wait 8 years to become human again. I’m hoping I can quit buying stock in medical devices, soon. After my 3 teens, I feel like I should a say in how certain hospital wings are operated. 
jyak, I hope your kids and g-kids drag you along more on their adventures. I hope to stay close enough to my girls to be a part of their adult worlds.
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Daughters are great except during the estrogen attack years. I really got tired of hearing “I hate you!”
Now she has a teenage daughter and son.
Kayaking isn’t for everybody. The biggest issue is typically commitment or devoting the time. Kayaking for fun hits a wall when the wind is blowing too hard, the temperature and humidity is too high, the trip is too long and so on. That’s why I don’t kayak for fun. I originally did so, taking family and friends out. It ended packing five or more boats and doing 2 or 3 mile trips. That’s how bicycling ended for me. Packing a truck full of bikes, then going 7 miles. Now I solo.
My biggest challenge with the two grand daughters is that they currently like team volleyball more than most other other activities. Best I can do is make sure they’re equipped, make myself available when they have the desire to kayak, and pass on everything I can.
As my own kids and the grand kids were growing, I made sure they were exposed to the outdoors. Making a point of identfying plants, birds, trees, clouds, mushroom, animal tracks and stars. They have an inquisitive nature, which I helped nurture. My own kids have married partners who carry on those activities. Consequently, I continue learning and sharing with them.
I’m sure you’ll be part of their adult lives because you care. That’s the important thing, and it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the solitude and challenge of kayaking.
Well the plan was, if we didn’t have a baby by whenever, we’d give up trying and get kayaks (we’d been on a little paddle when we visited Iceland and had a blast).
14 years and many rentals later, we failed to find a way we liked to get kayaks for 3 transported, and bought a canoe.
Our early dates were hiking, we’ve played outside together our whole relationship and have gotten pretty good at the communicating stuff.
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