Father & Son

One of the greatest parts about having kids is getting to do things with them that you never got to do as a kid. My dad died when I was 2 years old, so I missed out on all those father-son experiences. My mom did an awesome job of being there for me, but I always wondered what it would've been like to have a male role-model in my life during those early, pre-teen years. I pretty much did all the same things that other boys did, but I had to do them without dad by my side. You can't really miss what you never had, but there were a few times I was jealous of other kids having a dad to do stuff with. Like tossing a football or playing catch or even mowing the grass.

This past weekend I got the opportunity to camp with my son; just me and him -along with his Cub Scout group. It was the first time for him sleeping in a tent and really "roughing it" and it was the first time in a long time for me getting that close to nature.


Sometimes you have to "get away from it all" to really be able to take a breath, step back, and gain a clearer perspective on life. That's what I got to do this weekend. I saw my son as a smart, witty (wonder where he gets that from?), resourceful young man of 8 years; not just my little boy.


Lucas spent the majority of the weekend in non-stop play with all his Cub Scout buddies but there were some really nice me-and-him moments where we got to chat and just share each other's company. So now I get more of a feeling of what I missed by not having my dad around and I feel proud to able able to spend that kind of time with my son. I hope it's something that he'll always be able to look back on fondly; but even if he doesn't, I certainly will.