Forumosa Fitness posted this on Facebook and it really affected me when I read it. Even brought a tear to my eye thinking about how my actions can have an affect on my son and how he’ll act one day.
Simple and awesome words of inspiration to fathers with sons.
[quote]He thinks that I’m so very fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see;
The little chap who follows me.[/quote]
Fantastic, Bis. Really struck a chord. I’m tearing up right now! What a pansy I am!
Look! Little bastard’s laughing at me!
FYI we are expecting a daughter soon and I bet it’ll be just the same. She will get cars and rugby balls as gifts and I may even call her Bruce, or Dave.
[quote=“sandman”][quote]He thinks that I’m so very fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see;
The little chap who follows me.[/quote]
Fantastic, Bis. Really struck a chord. I’m tearing up right now! What a pansy I am!
Look! Little bastard’s laughing at me! [/quote]
Cheers, mate. I felt the same way. I copied and pasted the image link. Awesome picture!
The other day, one of my sons back in the USA tells me he was in church when some nimrod starts talking about the poor people who choose not to follow Christ, how they’re going to hell, or some such nonsense. My boy, who is 15 and smart as a whip, gets pretty upset and says: “You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. My dad isn’t a member of our church, but he’s the best man I know, a really excellent person. He’s not going to hell like you say he is.”
Brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. I don’t think I’m all that excellent, but it sure is good to know my boy thinks I am.
Lesson 1: They watch everything we do and say. They’re learning how to be men from us.
Lesson 2: You’re probably doing a better job than you think you are.
Yes, excellent post, bismark. As fathers, we all need to think more about not only what we tell our kids, but what we show them in our actions as well.
And, excellent comments from tomas as well. As fathers, we need to go easier on ourselves and realize we all make mistakes. Not me, or course, but I’m pretty sure the rest of you have made mistakes. :liar:
as maoman wrote, it’s lousy poetry but it conveys the challenge & beauty and importance of being a good father.
[quote]He thinks that I’m so very fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see;
The little chap who follows me.[/quote]
This part is especially touchy cause in my case it points to the very core of my problem as a father.
I sometimes feel that I fail my son because I let him see “the base in me”. He is a tough little guy who knows how to pull all the strings to rile me up extensively.
I can have a bad temper and since we spent together many hours each day I just can’t help myself and it sometimes happens that I shout stuff at him full force right in his little face and even beat him on the hand or feet - I can see that I really scare him.
He’s always back to happy after a short time, but I know that he learns my behavior and I feel terrible and I do apologize to him. But it happens again. I don’t think my father dealt with me in this way. As I remember he was always very calm & balanced and soft spoken. So, where did I learn “my temper”?
We all have our bad days, and it’s not easy being a parent. There is no manual. I’m sure you’re better than you think you are, but if the poem helps us to try harder, that’s good.
Yeah, but that’s kind of the whole point of the lousy poem – they ALWAYS do see the base in you, because you’re a human being and you can’t really hide it. I know the last thing you want is another “bizarre” lecture from me, but what I do in those situations is try as hard as I can to give MYSELF a time out. Just walk out of the room and catch my breath for a few minutes. Then go back in and decide if the kid REALLY needs to be shouted at. Usually the answer is “no, not really.”
There again, he got a red handprint on his bottom last night when he had a screaming tantrum at bathtime.
S-man, ha you remember that one.
I think your time-out advice is very good, indeed I need it badly sometimes and I spend too much time alone with my son. Not good for him, not good for me. It always helps to have other people involved.
Part of being a dad, really. But what is it about boys and an aversion to bath time?[/quote]
Not aversion. He’s not happy unless I drain out the bath after washing him and then refill it with cold water. Weird kid.
Part of being a dad, really. But what is it about boys and an aversion to bath time?[/quote]
Not aversion. He’s not happy unless I drain out the bath after washing him and then refill it with cold water. Weird kid.[/quote]
I used to have a cold shower after my normal one. Hot water used to make me feel sweaty, so after getting clean I’d rinse in cold to stop sweating.
:liar: