12 Jun A FUNNY THING ABOUT ALL THESE FUNNY THINGS

And so, it happened… that moment I’ve been hoping for, yet kind of dreading at the same time.  My son suddenly turned into the fine young man he’s going to be.  Did it catch me off guard?  A little bit.   Did it throw me for a loop?  I think so.  Did it make me proud?  Absolutely.  And it all happened at my latest signing event in Corte Madera.  After turning all my parenting pain into “funny”, the kid who inspired a heck of a lot of it – was actually helpful.  Hmmm?  That’s funny.  This kid who’s been my source of constant consternation for close to 12 years (yeah, he inspired a lot of my kevetching poems!) was suddenly, helping me out… setting up A/V equipment… organizing!   But most importantly, just being good support.  Honestly, I was kinda blown away… in a good away.

You see – the turnout at the signing event was pretty slim.  And we only sold 7 books.  And frankly, if it had just been me… I would have been close to devastated.  But nope.  My son stepped in and actually re-affirmed what the manager there had said – that they’d had authors come in and sell only 4-5 books.  Unlike me, and my downtrodden outlook at most situations — my son spun it positive.  Additionally, he pointed out how my book was all over the store – and how Father’s Day was just around the corner… and that this was a great thing.  Say what??  Was my son actually being the bigger man???  And the answer was… yes.

Some day he’ll realize how much this meant to me…  How a time that could have been crushing and defeating, became a father/son moment that went way farther than the 1.5 hour drive to get there.  (Sorry to get all heartfelt and sappy on you guys! but this was big!)  It takes a lot of character to realize someone can use an emotional lift.  It also takes a bit of character to give up 3-4 hours helping someone out, when you could be playing Fortnite!  So I’m pretty humbled.

Honestly, I think I got my Father’s Day gift early.  It’s an amazing thing to see your son becoming the man you always hoped he would be.  And this past Saturday, I got an amazing glimpse of it.  It was most certainly a #proud for Dad.   In fact, it wasn’t even shaded by him screaming and throwing a pencil at his brother later that evening.  I had seen the future… and the future wasn’t a crazy kid throwing pencils… it was young man standing tall for his friends.  Or in this case, his Dad.

So to all the dad’s out there… don’t worry, there is a light at the end of the tunnel… and I’m sure, one day, you’ll see it too.   There will be that moment, when you’re kid does something that really surprises you and makes you realize – maybe I didn’t actually muck up this whole parenting thing!! Here’s wishing all of you a Happy Father’s Day!