Boys to Men

I have mentioned how I love to be a daddy. That is only half of the truth. I also love to be a dad. Now that may sound redundant to you, but hear me out, or rather, read me out. See, I am only daddy to two people. You're onto me now, aren't you? Have you figured out that my son does not call me daddy? He calls me dad and I am totally cool with that. Truthfully, I can't remember the last time he did call me daddy. Perhaps it was around the time I realized that I am not raising children, I am raising people. I am not raising a baby boy, or a little boy. I am raising a man. My friend, if you haven't had the privilege of parenting at least one boy and one girl, let me tell you, it is different. Even though books are still being published about the lack of difference, the real life that I live has made that assertion laughable.

I am in the middle of a book, again. I am not a huge reader so I am always "in the middle" of a book. As last time, this is not a book review, nor it is an endorsement of all that the book teaches, but it has shown itself to be insightful and I think with some doctrinal discretion, you could really learn from it. Alright already, the book is Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and it is aptly titled. Through scripture, psychology, and experience, the author rebuilds the machine that once was man, a real man. I'm talking about the kind of man that we used to look up to 30, 40, 50 years ago. There is certainly a ton of stuff that could be said right here about the current state of masculinity in our society, or better stated, the lack of masculinity, but that is for another time. I am more interested in sharing how I have seen my son respond to life as we go and grow together.
                                                                                 

I have watched Ricky drive a car in Disney (here). I have watched him swell with excitement as his Uncle Steve asked, "You wanna fly it?" through a headset and handed over the controls to his airplane, a Piper Cherokee 6, a couple years ago over the hills of North Carolina. This is same uncle that Ricky loves for his practically brand new Corvette. His love for mechanical things and movement, proven by research to develop sooner and stronger in boys than girls, has driven him, no pun intended, into my stored away collection of Automobile magazines that aren't even current. I picked up the subscription from the inaugural issue in like 1986, and collected each monthly issue for the next five years. And this drive shows no sign of slowing. Right now, in fact, literally right now he is probably immersed in the latest library borrow, Need for Speed for the Wii and his latest behind the wheel experience was just two days ago on a friend's boat. Again, the question, "You wanna drive it?" In case you were wondering, here is your answer...

I guess what I want to really say here is, let your boys be boys. That's the only way they will grow to be men, real men. Right now, I am stoked at the thought of filling his life with opportunities to grow into Biblical manhood. In case you are wondering, that is the kind of man that knows what it means to be tough but not mean, strong but not pushy, brave but not stupid, sensitive but not soft, and confident but not arrogant. So we like to camp and grill and eat meat (cooked, let's not get crazy here). We enjoy shooting the bow and arrows and the rifles. But the best part, we like to spend time talking, talking about what he is thinking and what he is feeling, and that's a pretty good bit at eleven years old. Of course, where he does his best thinking and talking seems to be in the woods. Oh I love to be called "Daddy" especially when it comes from real close to me with those beautiful eyes looking up at me, but being called "Dad" has become a call back to what I feel God intended for us men, at least, that's my perspective.

Thanks to Uncle Steve for providing this photo from the day Ricky flew the plane. If you think he looks like he is having the time of his life, it's because he was.