Little Victories & Challenges

I was so excited for my boys (Wil & Alec) yesterday. They ran their 1st 5K! It was awesome!! My only regret was that this was suppose to a "Father & Sons Event", for me however, a recent surgery proved otherwise. I'm down with NO PT for 6 weeks. Oh well, the boys had a blast and are looking forward for the next one when I can run with them, what a blessing and a time of bonding that will be.

It's good to take the time to challenge your boys before they conduct their rite of passage. In fact you should be challenging them on a regular basis, this allows them to find out for themselves what they are able of achieving on their own, and it also gives you a gauge of how far you can push them in a way that builds their self esteem and the camaraderie between the two of you, without breaking the spirit of your son. I have seen father's (as I'm sure you have too) so often on the wrestling mat, the gridiron, or the baseball diamond pushing their children beyond what they are capable of, and blowing up and acting the fool, when their son fails to live up to their expectations. I'll admit, at times I have been guilty of this very sin, are you? Fortunately my wife has been their to correct me and I've adjusted accordingly, however, some fathers are worse than others and unfortunately there is no talking to them about it.

We need to understand our sons limitations, especially when it comes to the Crucible of a rite of passage, or even the brain work that precedes the Crucible. I have had to "adjust fire", or redirect my plans and expectations for this rite of passage regarding my oldest son Wil. Number one, as discussed before in earlier posts I just got this plan nailed down. I'm sure you'll agree that there is nothing worse than trying to hit a moving target, well that's exactly what I presented to Wil when I started my blog, a moving target! If you follow this blog regularly you can see from a few posts ago, that I finally got this thing down. Having said that as he's engaging it and addressing the tasks at hand, it's possible that he may not be able to do the Crucible till after the New Year, and that's ok. Initially I thought November, now I'm thinking February, in saying that be flexible. Manhood can't be forced, nor can the skill sets necessary for manhood be coerced if you haven't been training them the whole time, some unknowingly of course.


The time leading up to the crucible is precious, I've grown and continue to grow as this thing progresses. I'm a better man for having taken on this task, and as a result I've been more deliberate about getting my spiritual house in order. Let things progress normally and don't belabor your child's progress. Be sure to encourage him and help him stay on track, but don't make this a chore. This is something that he should cherish and remember with fond memories. Stay the course and finish the race, make sure you challenge your sons along the way.

Enjoy the ride, you only get one turn.

Until Next Time,

Joe Stapp