With the arrival of company, our father/son time wasn’t as intense as it has been. However even in that, there was a lesson to talk about. How do you handle the disruptions of life? Of course my son did not see it this way, but it made for some interesting conversation nonetheless. For the most part we have settled into a morning routine that allows us uninterrupted time before the day becomes to busy. What do we do when this routine is interrupted? Do we simply put our shoulder to the wheel as it were and plow on? I have to say that there was a time in my life that I would have said, “Yes, that is precisely what you do!” I would have reasoned that distractions must be shunned at all cost in order to reach your intended goal. There is merit in this logic to be sure, but in this journey to manhood with this emerging young man in front of me, I thought perhaps a different strategy might be in order. To digress for a moment, there is another area of manhood that I am mulling over before I approach it with my son—What defines a man?
I suspect that will be an interesting topic once we get there, but for me the question this morning became, “Do I want to show him the rigidity of manhood or the flexibility of it?” Huge question to be sure. In this instance, I choose the flexibility of manhood. Perhaps this subject will be discussed in more detail at a later date.
At this point in the journey, the second two elements of our rite of passage are outlines at best. The beauty of this journey is the fact that we are doing it together while writing the script as we go.
Here is what we have settled on concerning the rite of passage for the mental and physical part of this journey.
Mental:
Read certain books—nothing definitive yet. Physical:
1—a camping trip
–set up camp by yourself –prepare the meal
–tell a story
2—a series of outings to: –catch a fish
–shoot a dove while flying –bag a deer