What he witnessed is what every dad hopes to see in their son, whether they know it or not.
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She likes to tease her older brother, and he can’t stand affection. What do you think her greatest weapon is?
Yep, hugs, and kisses!
She knows very well all she has to do is love on him.
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Mind you, she’s a bossy little girl, and when she doesn’t get her way, she’ll just start jumping all over him. Pulling at him in all directions trying to get him off of his “Minecraft” or whatever he’s working on until he eventually breaks down.
If she’s still unsuccessful, she knows very well all she has to do is love on him and that just sends the whole battleground into a tailspin. Sibling love is the funniest thing. But something surprised me.
♦◊♦
One day I saw the hero come out of my son.
A few years ago, I took the kids tubing at a lake, as they were taking turns being pulled by a pontoon.
Sometimes on the turns, they would get flung off. My son, who was seven at the time, took the first wipe out. That scared him, and I don’t think he wanted to do it anymore after that; not even get into the water.
As the boat made its way to around to retrieve him, I saw him in the water from a distance waving his hands in the air screaming and floating out there helpless. He had thought nobody saw him fall, which scared him.
After pulling up, there he was floating and the boat being full of people were just clapping and cheering him on. His face was red, but quickly turned into a smile of excitement and laughter!
Now, this one is for the heart strings, so get ready. The second time my daughter, Alena, took the plunge! Oh boy, now this kind of freaks you out seeing your three-year-old daughter floating in the middle of a lake. However, she had her life jacket on, and I knew she was okay.
The boat swung back around clockwise to go pick her up and as I glanced over at three o’clock. My son, who had been scared out of his mind from the last incident, was already half way there swimming to go save his little sister!
You talk about a tear jerker. This tears me up every time I tell the story. That boy didn’t care how scared he was the last time, his little sister was in trouble, and at that point to him nothing else mattered.
So, here we are again the boat pulls up with the same scenario. You can tell my daughter had been crying, but it quickly turned into a half cry/half laugh as we were all clapping and cheering her on.
Nicholas was the hero of the day.
What I witnessed is what every dad hopes to see in their son, whether they know it or not.
You see there’s a knight and shining armor in every boy and every man. He is there somewhere; maybe somewhere buried, or maybe finally realized. That man who lives within every boy will always unconsciously, consciously, secretly or expressively live for the adventure, to fight another battle, and for the beauty he longs to rescue.
♦◊♦
The man who my son is to become came out that day.
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He just has to find it; connect with who he is, and once he finds it, the adventure, the battle, and the beauty all become very real and he becomes fully alive.
Let that one know that whoever a man loves, finds her to be in danger, he will put his life on the line to save her. Whether it’s his children, his sister, his girlfriend, his wife, or anyone really; especially if it’s that damsel in distress locked up in the tower and guarded by a fire-breathing dragon.
The man who my son is to become came out that day; the dragon slayer who gave his life without a second thought. Her hero came for her when she was in trouble, and he came out like a roaring lion.
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Photo: Flickr/ Hans-Jörg Aleff