Fathers and sons

Saturday found my mom, Luke and I hiking in the mountains near our home. We chatted along the way and Luke surprised me with some of his technical knowledge about the weathering of rocks. Something that we had discussed almost two years previously on another adventure. I was amazed that he had taken that information in and that it had stuck.

On our way down the mountain, Luke kept slipping on the loose stones. His slip sliding approach was mainly as a result of his inexperience, choosing the wrong places to step, moving his weight at the wrong times, etc.

My first instinct was to explain all of these technical details to him, so that he could immediately get it right. And then an epiphany struck! I keep trying to pass on my life’s experience, knowledge, and wisdom to my children and expect them to take it all in and be perfect from then on. Strangely, it just does not work that way. Besides the fact that I am not perfect either!

I got to thinking about my role as a father. Surely it is not for me to be the perfect know it all, but rather the gentle guide. I imagine that there is time for both roles, but my focus should be on the latter. Unfortunately, in my bid to give as much as possible to my children, I have spent far too much as the information dispenser. I certainly did not learn everything from my parents. Much of my learning has been from experience, surely I need to provide those opportunities to my children and let them learn in a safe environment. Surely they don’t need to hear me droning on all of the time...

So Luke and I took a winter swim in an icy mountain pool, well beyond chilly, but far more important than another information sharing session!