It's a blessing for a dad to spend time with his son. But I believe the blessing increases by an order of magnitude when a grandfather, his son, and his grandson get an afternoon together. Today, my dad and I took my 7 year-old son fishing on the Arkansas River and caught four Brown trout -- well, five, but we couldn't put the small one back because he swallowed the hook. They're going to taste good tomorrow, but that was just the cover for why we really went. It was the justification for getting in the car, driving far, and seeing cool things like tanks and artillery, for sitting down to lunch and dinner, talking about "stuff" the whole time through. That's how values get passed down from one generation to the next. You talk about life, the good decisions, the bad, and why we do what we do.

As my son pieces together his worldview, the world is full of variables. My father and I function as a pair of constants he can apply to the rest and see how it fits. That he has one is good, but just like math, having two constants is better and helps him figure things better.

Walking into lunch, I saw my son holding his grandfather's hand even after they had reached the other end of the parking lot. He watched him shave this morning and talked about "stuff" too. He watches his grandfather and even picks up on some of the mannerisms. It's a clear portrayal of the words, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children..." I am a blessed father to have a son and a father that love each other the way they do. I don't deserve to witness this special relationship, yet I am a participant. I'm the most blessed dad I know.

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