Honestly, I have enjoyed fatherhood in so many ways and when the children were younger but as they grow older, the joy seemed to be turning into one unexplainable ball of messy misinterpretation after another with countless twist of pain, joy and fun all mixed in a concoction of roller coaster feeling. I guess, in many ways, everyone needs to grow up and it is how fast we adapt to our children's growing up and changes that really matters. As parents, we have to adapt and keep abreast with the situation around us or we will be labelled as "not seeing the matters from the young people's point of view." I must say in all honesty that I have been able to adapt to those changes but it's the children's mindset that boggles my marbles a bit. In fact, there are times I even question myself if these children are mine in the first place! (** eyes rolling** and with a hint of deep sarcasm! ) You can never know what goes through their heads, their direction in life and even what would they want to be when they grow up. I bet you this - 40% pilot, 15% doctor, 15% lawyer, 10% engineer, 10% teacher and 10% unknown/don't bother where they end up to be. Anyway, that's part of growing up and some have explained it as the X, Y & Z generation! The only generation I know is the daily survival generation. So, like I said, we all have to start to learn somewhere, right? I may still not understand this generation X,Y & Z thing but I am sure, we all have to work hard somehow and get our life going down the road call LIFE!
I am utterly shocked and quite disgusted actually when I see young children being overly-sheltered, overly-protected and even being reprimanded in a soft tone even when the child stabs another with a sharpened pencil end! I tell you this, we have to learn to buck up or else our children's generation are going down the dumps. I am not saying that you have to enlist yourself to a military boot camp of discipline and military style execution of life but let's be practical. Keeping them in line with discipline and getting them grow up with good values are important. Yup, you may never know where they will end up when they are all grown up but the least you can do is equipped them with good values of life, be humble , be respectful, be resilient to the test of time in circumstances that may come their way and teach them to rely on God!
I have learnt too that letting the children go when they grow older is a must-do thing. We cannot hold onto/cling tightly on their dear life even when we grow old someday. We have to do the right thing by giving then space to breathe, work out their messy lives , lead their lives and allow them to grow in His time. Who knows - they may be better without our help and constant hawk-eyed parenting technique. Grow- they must and grow-they will if we , as parents allow them that space. By all means, instill good values of respect for people and being humble. Those values don't go wrong or awry. I have just let one of the birds in my nest to fly. I wait in anticipation for a successful flight and I pray in all earnesty for humbling encounters as he takes the life flight. I pray that he would turn from a bird to an eagle who would soar in the skies and yet be humbled before the Lord. That is all that I asked for. Yup, a bird keeper once said that..........
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