Mike Love Dad
by Mike Anderson
In the early 1970’s my job assignment caused me to travel a great deal. In order to continue building relationships with my children, I would often take one of them with me in my travels. On one such occasion my 6-year-old, Mike Jr., and I traveled from Springfield, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas. We talked about school and related topics as we drove along the interstate. I decided it would be a good time to teach my son about the birds and bees. I pondered on what understanding he already had about this subject.
I decided to test his knowledge and try to teach him some valuable lessons of life. “Mike,” I said, “Have you noticed there is a difference between boys and girls?”
After thinking about it for awhile, he said, “Yes, Dad. Girls are pretty and boys are ugly!” Though I was tempted to chuckle, I remained serious, and tended to agree somewhat with him. I asked him if he realized what it meant for his mother to be pregnant.
“Yes, Dad. It means she is going to have another baby!”
“Well, son, do you have any questions about that?”
He thought for a moment then said, “Does everything Mom eats go down and hit the baby on top of the head?” Again, I had to restrain my feelings to laugh. I explained that the baby was carried in a special place so that the food did not hit him in the head.
For the next 45 minutes we had a most interesting talk as we traveled toward our destination. Finally as the conversation waned, I told my son how much I had enjoyed our talk together. Then, being desirous to recap this experience, I said, “Mike, what did you learn from our discussion today?” I was anxious to hear him repeat some of the great knowledge I had imparted to him. He pondered for some time and then put his arms around my neck and said, “I learned I love my Dad!”
