Marty Sloan – Living the Dream

There is NOTHING like being a dad!  In the last five days I have had xtremely meaningful moments with both of my sons!  I post this in the blog to encourage you in your child raising experience. 

First off a disclaimer – I am not a perfect dad and I do not have perfect kids!  What I do have is a strong love for my sons!  Lets kick off with the oldest son – nearly 13 .  It was a major joy to have a 45 min talk with my oldest a few nights ago – in our talk i was able to encourage him to posses his own life and feel the reality that he was not living out my life, but rather stepping into his own.  I firmly believe that eagles are not meant to stay in the nest, at some point there should be a sense of crowding, its at that point that the eagle is starting to fly.  Caution, before you fly you must spread the wings.  A main goal I have as a dad is to give my kid room to spread his wings.  Controlling fathers either force a child to jump to soon (rebellion) or cripple them so they cannot extend their wings at the right time (restriction).  My goal is to always find that balance between the eagle in the nest and the eagle trying to spread his wings to fly.  

The day the eagle stretches out to fly will no doubt be bitter sweet!  I will never forget the day I moved out of my parents house never to return as a dependent son.  I have never shared this thought with anyone, but amazingly, I was shocked that neither of my parents were there the day I packed up…. I literally packed myself and moved out!  Since that day I have never spent a day in a house I was not providing with the exception of some “family visits” ( boy those get shorter every time HA!).  I remember the final trip from the house to my apartment – my 1990 red chevy truck was packed back and front, I turned right out of the drive and headed out, as I cleared the front yard I begin to shed some tears, not sorrow, but tears of gratitude and excitement!  I was excited because I was living my life, I was grateful because my wings had time to extend, I was ready to drop from the nest high on the cliff to the new air and the terrane below that I would walk, not as a son but as a man!  A man with his own wings!  

I look to the day that my first born son can also pack his things and soar!  I expect that day I will once again shed those same tears ones not of sorrow but of gratitude and excitement - I will be excited that he will now soar to new heights and walk new terrane as his own man, I will be grateful that God gave me a season with such great a young man, that even though I was the father and he the son, I will be grateful because as a son he helped me to be a better man!  

Love my sons!