Cutting his way to Manhood

Last night, my son continued his ever progressing adventure into manhood. My heart is full of pride and yet, sad at the slowly disappearing boy that I love so much.

He took a big step last night as did his Daddy. I was quite shocked at the question that was posed to me over our family dinner. I just looked at Kevin and wondered if he really had lost his mind. My son was not old enough for this task.... or was he? He is very responsible, has a good head on his shoulders, but he still just a boy!

This was an exercise in trust for me. I had to trust my husband to be the teacher (normally my role), I had to trust my husband to make sure my (little) boy stayed safe and I had to trust my husband to know when our son had reached his limit.

Lets just say that I stayed inside the house except for a few pictures and short video so that I wasn't a "backseat driver" to my son's rite of passage. I didn't trust my self watching. I had flashbacks of learning how to drive and my mother gasping, hitting the imaginary break and holding her breath until we made it safely back home. I wanted this experience to be a father son thing. Something they could both look back on with smiles and remember whens.

The journey began with instruction. Going over what everything does, knowing how to work the machine. Then came the most important instruction. This part of the lesson is of upmost importance to the head of this house. How to cut a straight line.

Let me for a moment pause at this part.... For once upon a time, I tried to help lessen the load of my husbands duties around the house when he was very busy. I mowed his lawn. To me this was an act of love. To my husband it was an act that I shouldn't have committed. Now to his credit, he thanked me for helping and then lovingly told me that I didn't cut the lawn with straight lines and that mowing the lawn was his time to relax and not to worry about cutting it again. From that day forward, I have yet to cut the lawn. We have since retired our old lawn tractor and moved to a new one that I have yet to even start.

After Micah had assured his father that he indeed knew what a straight line was and could cut the grass in such a manor, his instruction moved onto practicing driving the tractor around our slice of earth. The smile on his face was radiant. He was so proud of himself as he drove circles around and around the house.

Then it was time for some last minute warnings. You know... don't run over any kids... you fall off you could die (Micah said this one). Just a little healthy fear is good for any kid.

Next it was time for me to run in the house because I.was.scared. I was telling myself that all boys have to go through this. That this is one of those "boy" things that I need to let go and allow him to do. That in the olden days boys were using axes at the age of 5 and most of them survived so what was a little tractor?!

I heard the mower deck start up and I just started praying. Lord, please keep my little man safe and please help him to cut straight lines....

After awhile I stepped out of the house to see how he was doing. His Daddy was lovingly watching over his every move, making it as safe as possible. He had a sweet expression on his face as he watched his first born maneuver the tractor around obstacles.

I headed back inside as Micah continued to mow. I would peak out the window and watch him shoot across the lawn going one direction, then shoot across going a completely different direction. I went and sat on the front steps to watch my son's artwork take shape. His Daddy and I kept laughing as he would dart to a different part of the lawn to cut a part that he missed. We laughed at his 20th attempt at cutting around the landscaping island. I smiled as his face, so serious in concentration, tried to figure out how to cut around the flagpole.

So my little boy started cutting his way to manhood. It's really has been a journey he has been on since the day he was born, but I am only now starting to see it clearly.

And the straight lines? Well... there wasn't really any and his Daddy couldn't be prouder!

Blessings!!

(Here is a short video, I start laughing because he was cutting in the most interesting pattern)