Political & Religious Commentary

Ah… September, afternoons warm enough to remind us that summer has not yet left us and mornings cool and crisp enough to invite us to share hot chocolate by the fire.  Good sleeping weather too!

Not many things are more important to young boys, than spending exclusive time with dad.  Much is made today regarding the euphemism quality time and how any time is quality time — ahhh…yawn.  But there is such a thing as the level of connection we make with our children.

A canoe trip provides a unique opportunity to get away from all the noise of work, the home, TV, video games and even today’s so-called family theme parks.  Alone with just you and your son in a canoe, life gets quieter.  There are plenty of natural attractions, water, trees, fish, and wild life along the shore.

But it’s a quiet kind of inquisitive discovery.  Life slows down a bit and there are physical things to be done, like fishing, paddling, or pulling the canoe onto the shore and pitching a tent for the evening.

Several years ago much was made about male bonding and there was a big push for men to form sharing groups.  But men aren’t that verbal and they don’t share the way women do.  Just working together and being in each other’s company creates a bonding most women would never understand.

The physical exertion of paddling, the long periods of silent floating, and the excitement of a run of rough water or the spontaneous laughter of a splash war, all flow together to create great memories for the future; but what about the present?

The same myriad of experiences that create memories also create the space for intimate father and son time.  After that long day of physical work, exploration, laughter, and even complaints of boredom, comes that magic moment.  That moment that usually shocks most fathers.

Just when you least expect it — he speaks!

“Hey dad?”  “Yea?”  “You know Freddy, down the street?”  “Yea?”  “Well, he says, “                       ”  “What do you think about that?”  And just like that a conversation opens up in which your own son actually requested to know what you thought.

That night by the fire you watch your boy become a man as he offers you the first marshmallow he ever roasted to a golden tan.

Christ loved us so much He died on the cross for us.  We are called to the same sacrifice for our wives and our children.  This September, pencil in a weekend for your son.  It’s a small sacrifice of time and the rewards may truly surprise you.  But even more important, your son will have the time he has secretly yearned for to be alone with his father.