Letters to Holden…and Nolan

little guys…

i was out to lunch today and group of high school teenagers came into the restaurant.   they bought their stuff and were all sitting around the tables and starting acting like…well,  teenagers.

one of the girls caught my eye.   she was beautiful.   long,  dark hair.   tall,  confident.   she even appeared to be the leader of the group.   as they laughed and joked and ate,  though,  something caught my eye.

she chewed with her mouth open.   i mean wide open.

her lips smacked out loud.   food fell out of her mouth.   on virtually every bite,  she had to wipe her face off.    i hate saying this,  but she reminded me of a horse.  

and it caused me to change the way the way i thought about her.  

there are going to be a whole lot of things your parents are going to try and teach you along your journey.   a bunch of them aren’t going to make any sense at all.   they will probably remind you of them more than once.   maybe like hundreds of times.

if you guys turn out anything like your dad,  you’ll probably get a little annoyed hearing your mom constantly tell you to “keep your mouth shut while you chew…” or “don’t pick your nose…” or “sit up straight…” or a bunch of others from a list that seems a mile long.

but you need to listen.   the lessons they try to teach you will make sense.   someday.

you are growing up in a culture that has changed a lot since i was a little boy like you guys.   things like being polite and showing respect and minding your manners  no longer have the value they used to have.

but they need to mean something to you.   because the “small things” add up.   they will be part of what makes up the “whole” of your lives…and become important pieces of lives that are made for something bigger.   waaay bigger.

but you can still slobber on me when you kiss me goodbye.

grow wise,  grasshoppers.

papi

#manners #polite