I love being a dad. Having a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old princess is probably the greatest thing in the world! And although it can be stressful at times, I wouldn't change it for the world.
The other day my son did something that made me very happy. It reminded me a lot of myself and my mind set on a lot of things.
The road we live on is a dead end that's about 4 houses long that ties into a more prominent road. In order for our trash to be picked up we have to bring the big can out to the big road which is probably 200 yards away. Sometimes if the can is full this can be quite a chore and you can really feel it in the legs because you have to pull the can through the grass and it doesn't want to roll very well.
Well my son, Preston, insists that he help me bring the can to the road and then race me back. And he's gotten a lot faster. To few weeks ago I went to grab both mine and the neighbors trash cans to bring them out, and Preston insisted that he grab one and pull it down there himself. So I let him take the neighbors since it wasn't very full and therefore not too heavy. He was ecstatic!
Then last week he decided that he had to bring ours to the road. This time the can was quite full and pretty difficult to pull behind you, but he instated none the less.
It was obvious that he was struggling. His breathing was taxed, he was straining, and his path wasn't very straight. So I kept asking him if he was alright and if he wanted me to take over for him. He kept telling me no of course, then he said something that blew my mind.
He told me "No daddy, it makes me more powerful."
Huh? What do you mean it makes you more powerfull?
"It makes me stronger!"
....wow....
Definitely my kid. I will intentionally take on harder tasks, no matter how mundane, and consider it "training" in a way due to it being difficult. I look at things like this as making me stronger, either mentally or physically. This is why I will go climb the tallest tower at work just for the hell of it. It's why I enjoy running so much. It's why I saved 3 pieces of the tree that we had cut down the other day, then bought a 10 pound sledge hammer to go outside and beat on it with. It's why I enjoy bringing a heavy trash can to the road. Because they all make me stronger, or "more powerfull".
I was do proud of my little guy that I didn't even know how to respond to him. I just smiled and said "well... Alrighty then!"
I can't wait till he's. little but older and I can wake his ass up at 4:00 in the morning to go run a few miles with his old man!
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