MattCatlin
Member
My old boss George is an engineer, he built a successful company which he eventually sold to the company we both work for. His father was a farmer and rancher in east TX. Years ago he was having a terrible time with his son who was about 14. Kid was rebellious, disrespectful a real handful. At the time George was building his company, working long hours traveling and probably not a very present father. So one day the boy is burning grass with his grandpa and the wise old man took a risk. He knew what the boy needed and he let that fire go and grow and head toward the pickup kind of watching out of the corner of his eye. Finally he stands up straight, looks at the boy flips him the keys and says, Greg, I'm counting on you to move the truck, no way I can reach it in time now. The boys eyes widen like dinner plates, he runs down there, figures out how to start it, grinds the gears shoots dirt rooster tails and gets it upwind out of the fire path. George told me no one had ever trusted that boy to do anything important, treated him like a man or someone to be counted on in a pinch, and that one afternoon changed the course of the boy's whole life, who now is a great guy runs a successful drilling company. This took place about 30 years ago. I always liked that story and it has changed how I interact with my boy who is 11. The more like a man I treat him, the more he acts like a man. Last summer I had him drag a bunch of logs I had yarded up in the woods down to the sawmill with the dozer. I spoke to him like I would any grown man, showed him how to hook a choker, how to get on and off the dozer safely exactly, how I wanted it done then gave him a chance to ask questions. He dragged logs all afternoon then I let him drive the pickup down the country lane. That boys chest puffed his confidence soared and he has acted different from that day on. No more reminding and nagging needed to him to get eggs, water feed put his motorcycle away etc.
