ithoughts

my three sons

i have a seventeen year old, a 13 year old and a 7 year old....all boys. Today was sunday and we all did the church thing together. My oldest took two of his friend with him today. it was actually kind of a bribe or trade. he was editing a video for them for their class, so they went to church with him ...mainly so they could leverage the time they needed to get the video done. our church is qutie interesting for highschool guys whose only experience has been in the boring kind. One of the friends just kept on looking around as if his head couldn't take it all in. He hadn't been in a church for years and to see al lthe lights and screens and graphics and a cool band and rocking music just kinda made his head spin. It was really fun to watch him watch all that was transpiring. He sat totally absorbed in the message of the pastor as well. I am guessing he may never have heard a relevant, authentic-sounding, fun witted, pastor before and it's probably safe to say he hadn't heard anything really captivation from a preacher before.
The guys left and we bought them some chicken and steak cooked by an entertaining japanese magician at one of those places where they set your japanese food on fire right in front of you and then toss things around on a spatula til it ends up in your mouth or on their chefs hat. They seemed meagerly enterttained there. Then they were off to shoot their video and edit for the rest of the day.
meanwhile i got to take my thirteen year old to barnes and noble bookstore and starbucks where he got to feel like a man with his hot drink and his book searching. we ran into a friend of mine while there and i introduced him to my son and then showed my son some of the books for sale there in the store written by my friend. he didn't say much but he felt better about life and family by the time we got home.
Meanwhile again i sat on the couch with my seven year old and we looked out the window together as the rain made the creek rise in the back yard and then we counted seconds between the lightening and the thunder. he asked if we could play yahtzee..and of course i would have preferred to just watch it rain so i said if it thunders within one minute then i will play.
the rain had ceased and i expected to not have to play and i saw no lightning whatsoever but within three seconds after i made the statement, thunder boomed and cracked and rumbled for about 14 seconds and my son just laughed and laughed.
and we played yahtzee. for a long time.
Meanwhile one more time, my oldest brought his agnostic young friends over and were int he basement editing for what seemed to them and to us way too long. i went down to watch and ended up finding sound efffects on my library, sharing some of jack handy's deeper thoughts with a few of them and cracking a few jokes as i watched their weird movie about a modern day beowolf where they massacred one another with swords and ended the movie with a violent gun shot.
sure i was scared.
tonight around eleven my seventeen year old came up to me and said "dad thanks for being so cool in front of my friends"
and then he said "i sure wish i could get them to come to church more often, maybe they would catch on"
my response to the "thanks for being cool" line was "no problem son, i don't know how to not be"
and then i said "well i guess we both have see that that isn't totally true huh?"
he laughed and then i had some thoughts:
what a great day. worthwhile times of fun and laughter and influence with all of My three sons. They may remember this day for a while or for a short time. Me, I'll remember parts of it for the rest of my life.
God, I know your asking me to play games and listen to thunder and go to the bookstore and spend time with you and your friends a lot. It;s good to be your son. I'm glad you know the authors of all the books and you actually created thunder and lightning and laughter is on your agenda for me a lot.
i have no doubt that one of the reasons you gave me my sons was so i could understand you a bit better.
and today...i do.

posted by the enhancer @ 8:11 PM