Thread by @fathersreforged

An innocent moment turned into a serious father-son lesson.

I’ll never forget this for as long as I live.

//Thread//

Yesterday my family and I were returning from a friend's house we'd visited.

We had never been there before so I had the satnav/GPS on.

It kept 'pinging'.

The following conversation set me up for a defining Father-Son moment.

However, it could have easily been overlooked by a passive father.

Son: Why does it make that noise?

Me: it's letting me know there are speed cameras ahead.

Son: What do they do?

Me: They check to see how fast you are going, and if you are going too fast they take your picture and send it to the police.

Son: Have you ever had your picture taken?

Me: No, Daddy has never been in trouble with the police.

Son: Oh right, because you follow all the rules?

Me: No, Daddy has never been in trouble because he drives safely, not because he follows all the rules.

This was the dynamite question.

"Because you follow all the rules?"

A passive parent would've brushed this off, probably just agreeing with him. This could've set the stage for a dangerous precedent, and done a disservice to the man he should become.

Instead I reframed it.

I let him know that I've never been in trouble because I'm safe on the road, not because I'm compliant.

He needs to know that as his Father & as a man, that I am in charge of myself and us.

I decide what is best for us.

Not the government.

This was a prime teachable moment.

A moment of preparation for Manhood that I could've missed if I wasn't striving to be intentional each and everyday.

The beginnings of instilling within him what it meant to be a man:

-To determine your values and morals. Then stand by them regardless of consequence.

-That he will be an Oak, unwavering and unmovable.

-That he will lead, not follow with blind obedience.

The cost of missing this moment could've been great.

Passivity breeds passivity.

Fathers.

Always. Be. Intentional.