Dads, Put On Your Mowing Shoes

It is a question that pops up in our house at least three times a day. When the answer is “Yes”, you’d think that I just told someone that they won the lottery. Eyes light up. Hands fly in the air. Screaming ensues. It’s not total jubilation, but it is pretty darn close.

The question is this: “Daddy, are you going to mow the yard today?”

I don’t quite understand it, but nothing in the world gives my two sons more joy than mowing the yard. They live for it. They have all the tools. Little green mower. Orange plastic blower and weed-eater. They even have a tiny red gas can they use to fill up their equipment.

Mowing the yard in the Texas heat is a fairly terribly experience, but watching my boys, ages two and four, get so excited makes the job significantly more pleasant. There is one part of the mowing experience that I do enjoy more than any other. It is when my son Stephen gets our mowing shoes.

I have these grubby old shoes that make their home in a dusty old corner of our back porch. I’ve never called these shoes my “mowing shoes”, as these shoes have no title. They have one job and one job only; to get stained green as they help me mow the yard. But Stephen has caught on to the fact that when Dad gives the go-ahead to cut the grass, the first thing I do is put these old shoes on. To quicken up the process, Stephen runs out to the porch to grab my mowing shoes and brings them to me. Once step one is complete, he runs to his closet and pulls out his self-proclaimed mowing shoes. When the mowing shoes are on, it’s go time.

I didn’t catch on to this the first few times my sons mowed the yard with me, but it has come to my attention since. My eyes have been opened to the fact that my sons do absolutely everything that I do when I mow the yard. They find a string to put around their neck to pretend they are wearing headphones. They wear fake glasses to protect their eyes. They stop pushing their plastic mower every ten minutes and fill it up with imaginary gas.

When it comes to mowing the yard, my boys want to be like me. Actually, it’s more like my boys will be like me. And this isn’t just true with mowing the yard. It’s true in life.

As a father, you have a responsibility. Whether you like it or not, you are the standard of manhood in your household. When boys think to themselves “What does it mean to be a man?”, they will think of their father. When daughters ask “Am I loved and cherished and worthy to be pursued and loved?”, they will think of how Dad treated them. As a father, you don’t have a choice. You can’t pass this responsibility to anyone else. It’s up to you. You have no say in the matter. As an apple tree makes apples and an orange tree makes oranges, you will create who you are.

Dad has specific roles in the life of their children. Dad gives permission. The words he says and the actions he does are the starting line for his children. Dad gives affirmation. He has the ability to let his children know that he believes in them and that they have what it takes to overcome whatever this world throws at them. But most of all, Dad is the example. Your sons will learn how to be a faithful husband and a loving father by watching you husband and father. Your daughters will learn worth and security because of how you prioritize, honor, and celebrate them. In this game of life, more is always caught than taught. Your children will learn how to be a good person by watching you be a good person.

Dad has the opportunity to be the most important person in the life of their children. He can be the one who was there when no one else was. He gets to be shoulder his daughter cries on and the recipient of the phone call when his son has no idea what to do. You have what it takes to be that for your son or daughter. You can live a life that makes your son say “I want to be like dad.” and your daughter say “I want to marry a man like my father.”

When my son says “Hey Dad, put on your mowing shoes!”, what he’s really asking me to do is to give him an example to follow. He’s giving me the chance to lead the way so he can trail behind me. It’s so much more than mowing the yard. It’s showing him how to succeed in this thing called life.

Is being a father a big responsibility? Yes. No doubt about it. One could argue that there is no greater responsibility than raising children. It is also an immense honor and privilege. Watching your kid become a fantastic human being can be your greatest accomplishment in life. Dads, let’s put on our mowing shoes and get to work. Let us be the example for our children to emulate. Most of all, let us remember that being a father isn’t a job. Being a father is a joy.