My 9 year old boy was crashed on the couch, no TV, no video game, no book, just there on the couch staring at the ceiling fan… I sat down next to him and said, “You OK buddy?”. He continued staring at the fan and mumbled, “yeah Daddy.” I sat quiet for a moment, and then continued, “Is something wrong?” He cut his eyes at me then returned to staring at the fan and said, ”No.” I gave it a little more time, hoping he might open up then I said, “Is there anything you want to talk about, Buckaroo?”.. He softly replied, “No Daddy”…. OK, now it was time to be Super Dad, so I leaned close and said, “Look son, sometimes things are confusing, you’re at a tough age where you feel a lot more than you know how to handle.” He continued to lay there, but occasionally he would now glance over at me. I didn’t think he was getting it, so I said, “and it’s not gonna get easier either, people are going to test you by being unnecessarily mean, sometimes you will feel all alone and think you cant make it through, but you can. Sometimes you are going to have to talk to someone so they can help you sort through the things you are struggling with, and that’s ok, sometimes hearing yourself say it out loud will help you see some truth in yourself, yknow?” He was not staring intently at the fan, “yup”, he said. I sat up straight feeling pretty good about our talk. Now time for Super Dad to bring it home! So I said, “well I’m glad you understand, it means a lot to me when we can talk and share things, now, tell me buddy, what’s going on in your mind right now?” He nodded, seemed to come to some conclusion, stared me straight in the eye, and said, “Well Daddy, the ceiling fan has spun around five hundred and thirty seven times since I sat down, that’s pretty cool, y’know?............. Not once did my expression change, “ Yeah buddy, it sure is….. it sure is……..”
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 15:28:20 +0000