From Father to Son

As a boy, my father spent a lot of time introducing me to the things that brought him joy. He insured that I had seen every Monty Python and Mel Brooks movie ever made. Genesis or Journey filled the air nearly every time we got in the car. He painstakingly tried to pass on his love for baseball...which I quit playing, much to his chagrin, after he pegged me with the ball an uncountable number of times. He was a horrible pitcher.

My dad taught me some valuable life lessons...all of which I have tried to apply to my own life...many of which I have failed at miserably.


"Learn to discern"
"Fear nobody, but respect everybody"
"If mama's not happy, nobody's happy"

Just to name a few.

So I spent some time thinking about the things I want to pass on to my own son. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Don't linger on the things you can't control...it will only suck the joy out of you. You can only control yourself, and you should always do so in a manner that does not embarrass me or your mother.
2. The greatest superhero ever created, or ever will be created, is Batman. Anyone that tells you differently is not only wrong, they're stupid.
3. I advise you to treat all girls/women respectfully, but ignore them as much as possible. This will, for some reason, make them more attracted to you. The longer you can act uninterested in a girl you are actually interested in, the better your chances of her liking you. And you should never be afraid to knock a girl down a notch or two. Don't be mean, just make fun of them about little things that won't overly offend them. This will make it seem like you don't see them as perfect--that you haven't placed them on a pedestal--and as a result, they will try harder to win your approval.
4. Lesson #3 does not apply to your wife. Once you have won that one special woman over, you need to treat her like she is the queen of your world. Never stop being romantic. Never stop telling her how beautiful she is. Your sex life depends upon it, but it shouldn't be the reason you do it. She can tell the difference between things you do out of love and things you do for sex.
5. It is okay to envision the girls you like wearing Princess Leia's slave outfit. But don't think about it too much. It will only frustrate you.
6. Don't take the people you care about for granted.
7. Things you say in anger can be forgiven much easier than they can be forgotten.
8. Don't air your dirty laundry on social networks.
9. Until you are married, your mother and sisters are the two most valuable females in your life. And when it comes to your sisters, I expect you to be right next to me if and when one of their boyfriends needs to be taught some lessons of their own.
10. Find something that you love to do and make it yours. Own it. If you can make a living doing it, that's great. But if you can't, you still need a hobby.
11. Video games, comic books, and Legos are just as fun as an adult as they are as a child.
12. Fighting strangers is frowned upon in this day and age. So I strongly suggest fighting your friends.
13. Think for yourself! Your friends are probably idiots. Cliffs do exist, and lemmings tend to fall off of them.
14. You don't have ADD. You don't need medication. You are a boy. Do what boys do, and don't apologize for it. If you get suspended for pretending your pencil is a gun, I'll be right there next to you, defending you in every way I can.
15. Don't start smoking. One day, you will, without a doubt, want to quit. And you will struggle with it your entire life.
16. It takes a lot of effort to find a style of Levi's that fits you perfectly. When you find them, remember the number.
17. Life is not fair. Disappointment is inevitable. Whining will get you nowhere. Get over it and move on.
18. The only true contentment you will find in your life is through Jesus Christ. People will fail you. Things will fade away. Only Christ's love endures.