I sent my boy off to science camp this morning and my heart is welling with emotions. Most of them are good. Some of them are sad.
He’s now 10 which has meant now at over 100 pounds we don’t wrestle quite so hard these days. He’s into some of my music we play in the car as we go to work together, you see – he attends the school where I teach. He asks me questions about everything from guitar to how certain jobs work in the world. You see, we have become inseparable through the years. One of our favorite things to do is grab a donut and he a milk, I a coffee on our way to work. Incidentally, most the time we do this I use my PayPal blog card and the money I’ve earned from doing what you are reading now. Let that be a statement against anyone who says $100/month is chicken feed ;) – though I sometimes make 2-3 times that -
But I digress
My son is becoming a young man and I can imagine what he will look like, be like, and sound like when he fully matures. It’s the coolest “project” I have ever had a part in. His mom and I got married when he had just turned 4. Almost in a 2 month period, I went from a single guy who didn’t care if he dropped everything and moved at the drop of a hat to a dad who was looking for an insurance quote for a family of 3. I actually was going to my first science camp that year as a teacher and he and my wife tagged along staying in a hotel and visiting as much as visitors were allowed in the snowy paradise. Now, nearly 7 years later, he himself is going up the hill with bag and suitcase in tow. I see him smirk when I tell him how proud I am of him. By any other 10 year old’s standards, that would probably be embarassing but my son and I have been through a lot together. He taught me how to be a dad and I’ve taught him what “not” to do mostly by example LOL.
In all seriousness though I am proud that my son has listened to my teaching and I look forward to a lifetime of teaching each other.
The once “three” of us (add two girls now) c.2002
I will miss him this week but I secretly know he won’t miss me. This is my boy growing up and I am elated to see it happening right before my eyes.
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6 Comments
Awesome. Is your son playing guitar yet? If you’re teaching him I’ve got an article on easy guitar songs for kids you might find helpful.
Twitter: rileycentral
Thanks Rob. I’ve been teaching him primary chords and strums. I will check out the book you referred to.
I am always looking at my nieces and nephews and I just want to slow down time but at the same time I can’t wait to see the people they become. Your kid is going to science camp which I would think is a step in a good direction for his future!
Twitter: rileycentral
@beeker: Sounds like you understand what that was like watching him go. Bittersweet :)
Congrats on science camp, that is really a nice thing. My son is now taking drum lessons, and we took him to the phoenix childrens museum and phx Zoo this month.
Gotta keep them kids busy and enrolled in stuff to keep them out of trouble.
Twitter: rileycentral
@Dragon Blogger: You got it. They grow up before you know it.
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