The Boy is a Warrior, the Boy is His Name!

As required by the Commonwealth of Kentucky: "A home visit must take place prior to the first day of preschool by the child's future teacher". I'm not sure if this is the correct verbiage but I'm sure it is something to this effect. This law is in effect for all prospective students, and must be performed even if the child's mother happens to be his Principal. That's right, no one gets a break in this state or any special favors, and I am all for it! So, last night after Church, we rushed home and awaited the arrival of the lady that will be our son's teacher.

She arrived with her assistant and Will was excited. He actually ran out onto the porch and jumped up and down waving and welcoming them into our home. During the visit, she went over the various paperwork we had to fill out and went over the program and the schedule. About 10 minutes into our meeting, Will started dragging things out of his room to show her. First came a bat and ball that he wanted to demonstrate his hitting ability. I told him no and he got a bit upset and returned to his room. Minutes later, he came out dragging shoulder pads, a helmet, and a dinosaur. I told him to stop bringing things out but that didn't deter him so he dragged out even more. Before too long, stuff was piling up everywhere and with every objection that Marci and I threw his way, the more upset he got. And that's when it happened. The teacher is required to take a photo of Will and as you can imagine, he wasn't going for it. No matter what we tried, he just crossed his arms and looked down, mad. For me, this is the hardest part of parenting because you know what you want them to do but they don't do it on purpose. His only interest was to show off for our guests and prove that he's got what it takes.

To get Will to cooperate, we all went outside to the soccer goal. Out there, he demonstrated his soccer skills by scoring a goal and doing the airplane celebration. The airplane is when you put the bottom of your shirt in your mouth and run around the yard with outstretched arms (airplane wings). I think it's pretty cool. After this, the pictures went well and Will was upset when they had to leave.

When I sit here and reflect on the visit, I can't help but be reminded of Exodus 15:3 that says:

"The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name"

Our God is a warrior and as Eldredge put it 'Wild at Heart'. Since we are created in the image of this warrior God, we have that quality written on our hearts. Never is this wild nature so evident than in young boys. Us old guys just become numb to it as we age and replace it with other things. But we can never deny the fact that it is always there longing to get out. Praise the Lord for making boys into little aggressive machines that are afterall created in His image. At the time, it was a little embarrassing for Will to act like he did, but now I thank God for making him the little show off that he is.