me and my boys

A few days ago Mason told me he really likes the song "Strawberry Fields." This may sound inconsequential, but it made me beam with delight. This isn't the first time Mason has shared my taste in music; most of his iPod comes from songs I have on mine. But this time he picked a Beatles song. In my head I was thinking, "Yes! My kid is awesome. He is going to grow up having great taste in music, which obviously will lead to good choices elsewhere (one of which will be a super awesome, no-drama, wife)."

Today was Mason's first experience with scouts. As I drove home from school, with barely enough time to make it to his first pack meeting, I thought about how I won't even be home to take him to scouts for most days of the month because of my schedule. Then I thought about how maybe it wasn't a big deal for him to miss some anyway, it's just scouts - it's not like everyone does it.

Then I reverted to that one big thought I've always had, even before having children: How will my kids turn out the way I want them to? Not as in I want them to have certain jobs or anything - but I want them to want to work hard, to be kind to others. I don't want them to be drug addicts or alcoholics or something along those lines. Maybe with Mason coming up on the big EIGHT in a few weeks, I've just been re-thinking things.

So I decided that I have no clear solution. And I sort of feel like this:

But I also decided that just like I'm proud my appreciation for good music can rub off, I need to make sure I'm doing other good things that my boys can pick up on and mimic. And just like I want to be proactive in my work ethic, I need to apply the same thing at home.

So yes, I'll be making sure Mason is attending scouts (while I find him some more good music).