A Promise to My Son

I read an article in the November Men’s Health magazine about Colonel Skip Johnson, a battalion commander in the army’s 101st Airborne Division that got me thinking of what kind of man would I want my son to be. I’m not talking about his occupation or personality, but what will people think of when they hear his name. Colonel Johnson was asked about the potential of not being able to come home from Iraq and his response was:

My boys grew up saying, “Yes, sir” and “No sir”, not just to teach them respect for their elders, but as a simple way to instill discipline.” Introduce discipline early, especially in little ways that your kids have to practice frequently, and it will help them succeed in every aspect of their lives, whether it’s school, family, athletics or work.

Since I have been facing issues of my own mortality lately, I needed to begin work in making my four year old son, Bacchus Jr. (BJ) a man I could be proud of. So for the past several weeks, I have been trying to get BJ to respond to me with “yes, sir” and “no, sir.” It’s the same way we do when I ask him to say, “thank you” to people in public settings.

I am happy to report that after two weeks, it happened. I was in his room the other evening and I asked him to do something and he said, “yes, sir.” That’s right, on his own with no help or prompting from me. I didn’t remind him of it at all during the day. He just said it, and I almost (gotta keep it real, I was touched to say the least).

I swelled up with pride and just stared at him, while he continued what he was doing. This is the third time I have felt like this in his life. The first was when he was born, the second I did a post about Follow Me and now. He has continued to say it several times since, but nothing compares to the first. After several days, I realized that I am on a mission to making him a respectful and disciplined gentleman. He will learn to respect womanhood and love all mankind. He will listen to his elders and respect the paths they have led for him. He will always carry a handkerchief in his back right pocket not because he may need it, but so he can give it to a lady in her time of need. He will learn all of these things at a young age and practice them until they become habits. Although he won’t always understand their purposes, it will come to him later in life.

This is my promise to my son. If I were to leave this earthly body today, I have the peace of mind knowing that he is on the right path. In Colonel Johnson’s words, “It’s not what you do (with your kids) while you’re away that matters. It’s what you do while you’re home.”