Like Father Like Son

It's really amusing and scary how much kids imitate their parents. I think about this whenever my 21 month-old son mimics me when I stretch and do sit-ups - he sometimes even adopts the same pose I use when I'm thinking. I occasionally have these rosy fantasies of dispensing life lessons to my kids when they get older and them dutifully listening, which I admit may be setting myself up for disappointment, especially when they become teenagers. But seeing my son imitate my behavior reminds me of what one colonel in the U.S. army once said years ago: "You are what you do. Regardless of what personal philosophy you follow or set of values you believe, people in the army will judge you more by your actions than anything you say."

Which is not to say that speech isn't important - I still watch my language around my kids. But that retired colonel does have a point about behavior and I'm super wary of my son and daughter picking up my bad habits. That aside, I'll try to live as healthy a lifestyle as I can and hope that some of it sticks with them. The American 1500 meter gold medalist I wrote about last week, Matthew Centrowitz, had tattoo-ed the phrase, "Like Father Like Son," on his chest in honor of his father, who is also a two-time Olympian runner. I won't expect anything as dramatic from my son, but so long as he makes an honest effort to live justly, look out for others, and perhaps one day raise his own children to live the same way - that would be more than enough to make any father proud.