Watching Your Kids Grow Up is Fun!

It is the duty of parents to prepare their kids to gain independence and learn to navigate the positives and negatives of adult life.  As a parent of two boys that are 5 and 10 years old, I have learned that this is a hard job.  It is also a fun job as well.  Sure, there are going to be disagreements but watching your child begin to seek out opportunities on his/her own is rewarding to a degree that I had never expected.  For example, my oldest son has recently done a couple of things that I am pretty proud of.

Recently, I posted about how I purchased a trailer to haul my two, two-man boats around.  What my oldest son didn't realize at the time was that one of those boats was earmarked for him.  I'll never forget the look he gave me at the dinner table when I told him that he would be captaining his own vessel.  From that point to when we got on the water, he second-guessed himself and said that he didn't know if he was ready to be out on a boat by himself.  I informed him that I had been grooming him for this endeavor for five years and that he was indeed ready.  On the drive home after our first outing, I asked him what he thought of running his own boat.  He said, "Well, at first I was pretty nervous but then after a little while I thought, 'I was born for this'."  Since then he has done an outstanding job handling his newfound freedom and enjoys his time away from dad and little brother.

We have also taken on a construction project recently.  We are in the process of building a deer blind that will eventually be placed on a small trailer.  This will enable us to move our blind where we want as well as protect us from the elements.  Again, my son was nervous about running a saw and a cordless drill.  Truth be told, he didn't really want to miss out on video game time but I explained to him that these are skills that will help him in his life and that this was supposed to be a fun and memorable experience.  Since that talk, he has voluntarily picked up a hammer and nails and worked on the blind without my guidance.  I have asked him on numerous occasions if he has enjoyed the project and he has said, "It's okay."  That is his code for "Yes, this is a lot of fun."

While I have made this sound like sunshine and rainbows up to this part, I have to admit that there is a little sadness that has come with these two events.  There is a piece of me that is sad to watch my son grow up.  I know that I will always be his dad and that there will come a time when he doesn't do as many things with me and that he will have even more independence.  With that being said, the joy in my heart to watch my son grow into his own man is unparalleled to any other part of parenthood so far!