Blog symbolism

Yes, Yes, Yes...I really like symbolism. Yes there are tie-ins between the picture of the eagle, the unusual name of the blog, the scripture at the bottom ... the love for my son, my family, my daughters, my wife, The United States, Auburn University, the use of the word joy, etc...

I will delve into all of those things as time goes by...

Firstly, I believe we as parents are solely responsible for the starting direction of our children. Notice, I used the word direction. Our kids have to actually walk their path. We can create boundaries as best we can and hope they will bounce between those boundries in the direction we point them, but make no mistake, they are making the walk. I like to visualize it as the parents prepare the road and paint the centerline stripes and the edge of pavement stripes. You hope your children will stay in the center, but they will bump against the edge striping from time to time. They may even cross the stripe and have a little bit of a bumpy ride on the rumble strips or gravel shoulder, but hopefully they will correct their direction back to the road you have set for them. No, there is nothing that keeps them from driving into the ditch, creek or off the cliff. But, I also recognize that they may drive off into a lush meadow, a side road or take an ocean drive at the edge of the sea. Those are beautiful options and may create a wonderful life for them, just not the ones we as parents envisioned at the beginning.

However, it is still our responsibility to start our kids off the best we can with all of the opportunities for a joyful quality of life (see there is that word joy). I believe raising our children is the most rewarding responsibility I will ever have.

Our daughters have been very easy to raise. I am almost embarrassed at what good people and good souls they are. My son is also a beautiful soul. He, however, is going to require alot more from my wife and me. He was diagnosed with autism in April. We knew the diagnoses was probably coming for many months, but to actually hear the words was difficult, particularly for me. Anyone who has dealt with this directly has been there or at least heard it from others. Anyone who has not dealt with it, trust me, it was hard to hear. Being objective, I realize that I am the one who will need to adapt, steel my mind and have an attitude adjustment. I am the one who has to change the view of where his life might lead, I am the one who has the problem, not Flynn.

Our Methodist church has a human sexuality seminar for 5th and 6th graders. It is a fabulous program that I have been involved with as a table leader for 6 or so years. I believe it is appropriate for children of that age, if done with a Christian basis. At the end of the three day seminar, a story is told of a mother eagle teaching her hatchingly how to fly on his own. At the end of that story Isaiah 40:31 is read...

"Yet those who hope in the Lord will gain new strength; They will soar on wings like eagles, They will run and not grow tired. They will walk and not get weary."

That is my mission for my son Flynn. Autism is not who he is ... it is just one aspect of his personality. It is my responsibility as his father to put him in a position where he can accept the grace of God and go on to Soar on Wings Like Eagles ... Fly'nn like Eagles ...