When was the last time you took your son out for a beer to celebrate your relationship with him?
June 18, 2016
I really looked forward to that recent Thursday night in steamy St. Louis when my son Justin asked me if I wanted to go to the Urban Chestnut beer hall on the south side of St. Louis. It was a chance to celebrate a whole bunch of stuff especially the birth of his infant daughter and celebration of his son's second birthday.
Doing this has become a new tradition for he and I whenever he comes home or we go to his place. It's not a night at the bar, but an hour or two where we have a chance to compare notes on our lives, kids, jobs, retirement, driverless cars, apps, phones and presidential candidates. When he comes here we drink a really classy edition of a Founders beer that had been aged in old scotch barrels and in St. Louis, we have a Schnickelfritz crafted by Urban Chestnut.
He shared with me his middle of the night visits with his two month old daughter and life with his two year-old son who looks like a carbon copy of him. He loves being a dad. He changes diapers, including the ones that had been filled by a volcanic poop and he washes clothes. We talked about our mutual interests in the world, especially those involving technology, the area where he works. Our conversation included a slice about life with and without Trump and about political parties.
The time went by quickly, but I know we'll do it again. What did I learn? I really enjoy his friendship. I am also impressed by him as a man, a husband and a dad.
Not every dad can do this, but for the ones who can and haven't, I'd encourage them to do it.