The Pledge

Lately, my head has been in a cloud of hard adult topics. I promise to do my best in not weighing you down with affairs of adult matter. What happens between your father and I is our business. What personal discussions and discipline occurs with one of you doesn’t include the other. When finances are tight you will not know. When tension is thick you will not feel it. What may come about with someone in our circle will not be shared with your young ears. You will be children. I make this promise to you, today.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will walk the course of being innocent and free of the adult world and worry. I see far too many who allow their children to be privy to matters that are of adult nature. I anticipate a time you ask to hear a story or a detail. I will not tell you. My responsibility is to be your parent. I am not your friend. I hope to be someone you confide in, but this isn’t one of reciprocation. As you become men we can renegotiate our relationship, but I hold fast to this pledge until this time.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will have your needs met. Your clothing will always be clean, current and fit. You will have shoes for every season. You will be clean. There will be food aplenty to keep your diet balanced as we continue to eat as a family. You will be nourished. There will be plenty of exercise for your bodies, minds and spirit. It is my pleasure to ensure you are given a warm home, clothing and food. You will always have a place of comfort regardless of what may or may not have happened in your day.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will have opportunity and experience. It is important that your education begin the moment it can at the Pre-K level not for numbers, colors and singing rhymes, but for socialization. These first years of schooling are imperative for building a foundation that too many overlook. You will learn sharing, communication, contribution, listening and richer skills overall that our walls cannot teach you. It is human nature to be a different creature outside the walls of home; and in this the reality of parents accepting behavior as ‘normal’ which by any other standard are regarded as unacceptable due to being ‘immune’. And truly, being armed with a proper and higher level education (college/graduate) the world really is a different place.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will come first. You will go to parks, recreation, activities and vacation. I understand that I do not know the financial conditions of our future. I do know how to work a budget to ensure life has meaning and time to breathe. I do know a world of creativity vs purse strings. You deserve to have days of play and are entitled (a word I don’t use often!) to wonderment. I am to show you as much of the world as I am able, perhaps not by boat, plane and automobile, but by libraries, festivals, trips and the like. Together, we can very easily broaden your mind and strengthen your belief system.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will have boundaries and responsibilities appropriate for your state of being. Just as children crave attention and love they yearn to know the word no and limits. To love you is not to give you the world, but to give you an understanding of right and wrong. I will be fair and say now that you two may not share the same privileges all of the time or at the same milestone age. It will be earned upon your individual personalities and what you are capable of being responsible for. My responsibility reaches further than the two of you. As a parent I have a civic duty to do my best in raising children who are socially aware and good citizens. I have an expectation of chivalry, kindness and manners expected of you in and out of my company. I practice this now and it will continue to mature over time.

I pledge to you that you will be children. We will play. We will dance in the rain. We will make mud pies in the fall and seek butterflies in the spring. We will paint with our toes while using our hands to hold us up. We will have pajama days and dress up game nights. We will giggle at inappropriate noises and give loud giggles due to love mites in the library. We will have pillow derbies down the hall and popcorn for dinner. We will eat popsicles for breakfast and play in sprinklers at the park while wearing all of our clothing. We will laugh every day. I promise to play, too. It keeps life in perspective.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will be boys who make an impact. I give you permission to mold, guide and teach me. You will learn things I have never known or over time I have forgotten. Children are teachers and have perception that we as adults forget. You will feel things I have forgot for reasons I fail to recall. Inspire me to do better by watching your hearts grow. The three of us are on this journey together. My responsibility is to remember I must try to fit your needs (don’t confuse this with your wants!). I will ask you to share your feelings just as I will share mine. And like any other relationship this one will take work.

I pledge to you that you will be children. You will be loved. You will be cared for. You will be wanted. You will be snuggled. You will be enjoyed. You are my children and before having you I pledged a great many things, but today I make a pledge I know I can and one that I will keep.