I am fortunate enough to be a father to two beautiful children: Maverick (5) and Birdie Rose (3). My wife, Vanessa, and I had started later in life having kids, so I figured I’d have a few lessons down pat. What any parent will tell you is nothing can prepare you for actual parenthood. It doesn’t matter when you start or how much life you feel you’ve experienced… there is nothing like raising a living, breathing human being from the beginning of life.
One of the unexpected teaching moments of parenthood came from my son, Maverick. When Maverick was of age, we enrolled him in the local preschool. We spent the summer getting him ready for socializing with other kids, practicing learning in a busy environment, and instilling in him manners to make him teachers’ pet.
Before we knew it, the summer had come to an end. Maverick’s first day of school was finally here, and neither Vanessa or I was ready to see our baby enter this new stage of life. As we fought back tears in the car, I could see Maverick growing anxious in his seat next to me. My instinct was to launch into an encouraging speech, to squash the feelings of fear filling our car. But as little tears began to pool and trickle-down Maverick’s cheek, I decided to take a different approach.
“Dad, I’m scared.” Between his sniffles, Maverick looked towards me for guidance.
Looking into his big brown eyes, I couldn’t help but speak from the heart:“It’s okay to be scared, but it’s important to be brave.”
“Will you be scared and brave with me, dad?”
Hearing this question caused tears to fall down my own cheeks. Often, we are so focused on leaving a place of fear–that we forget we can hold these emotions in two hands. Fear enhances our bravery and sharpens our toolkit for dealing with the trials ahead.
