Yesterday was the orientation for my eldest son's entry into middle school. He is very nervous, very excited, and looking forward to it so much.
I, however, am still trying to come to grips with it.
I still remember sitting on the floor of our apartment in Brooklyn with him in my lap as a newborn, watching NHL games on our 13" television. It doesn't seem that long ago that he sat in my lap at Train Town and clapped in that funny way little kids clap, elbows flailing away and grinning to split their head open. And there is a mason jar with stuff from the beach--we went on his last day before he went to school as a kindergartner, and saved some things from our trip in a small jar to remember the day.
Now he is in junior high school. In just a year or two, he will know everything, and I will know nothing. I will stop being cool for a couple years, and his friends will be cooler. He will want to spend his time with someone else, doing something I cannot for the life of me find interest in.
But he will be smarter, more clever, more idealistic than ever. He will see wrong in the world and want to fix it. He will see things in people he has never seen before, for good or ill, and it will help make him into the man he will be for the rest of his life. Hopefully the things I have tried to share with him, teach him, show him in the last 11 years will stick and he will make smart choices through it all.
Plus there are girls.
Hooboy. Better go sit down in my rocker and take a nap.
5 years ago
2 comments:
I'll have to comment later when I've recovered from being a ball of tears. *hugs* You are an amazing father.
Now then, I love seeing how you and your sons relate to each other. The playfulness, how you teach them to teach themselves. Manners, respect, the love between them. I nearly burst into tears when Thing 1 asked Thing 2 for a hug the other day. They are both smart cookies and have been fortunate to have you infuse in them the goodness this world so desperately needs. They are good people.
The truly great thing about your parenting is that you have created a safe environment for them in which they can approach you. As much as they will find their own paths, your path runs parallel. With a father like you, they will remember what you've so beautifully allowed them to say and feel. Not only will they continue to come to you for your wisdom and guidance, but for your friendship and love between father to son.
Yes, I'm crying again. So get outta that rocker and go play some hockey. ;)
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