My Version: 25 Things I Want My Son to Know

1. Your father and I love you and your sister more than anything in THIS world! And I know ONLY God loves you more!! Know that you are His miracle and He brought you here for a reason. Live your life for Him and He will help you along your journey's ups and downs! Life is much more clear if you lean on Him! Give thanks to God for everything!!

 2. The kitchen?!  Not just for girls... Learn to cook.

3.  Table manners. Use them.

4. Understand how to use basic tools.

5. Save money when you're young because you're going to need it some day. As the head of your future household, spend and save your money wisely.  Broke is normal, why be normal?!  Use credit cards only for emergencies. Avoid loans as much as possible; it is better to wait and save and then pay in full than to have years of stress and worry. Be smart with your money in terms of saving and purchases, but also be generous. Use your time and money to take care of yourself, but also experience the joy of helping others in need.

 6. Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you.  Read a book.  Reading expands your imagination and makes you more intelligent and interesting!

 7. Everything worth having is worth working for, so don’t be lazy.

 8. Be respectful, even if you feel someone doesn’t deserve your respect, and especially if you don’t feel like being respectful (i.e. when you’re a teenager and I’ve done something to really upset you). Use “yes, sir”, “no, sir” and “yes, ma’am”, “no, ma’am”, "Please", "Thank You', and "Excuse Me"...

9. Laughter is the best medicine!

10. Shower daily, shave, keep your nails trim and use deodorant.  Take pride in your appearance.
 
11. Play a sport.  It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble.  Never QUIT!!

12. Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but if someone clocks you, please defend yourself.  However, you really should NEVER use your fists to solve ANY dispute. One wrong punch could take a life and it could be yours.
 
13. You will never know a stronger pull than that of your friends trying to get you to participate in their wrong doing. Resisting makes you a man. Succumbing makes you a coward.  You will ALWAYS face peer pressure!  There is no weakness in doing what is right.  There will be times when you do something or say something that you will regret. Do not be afraid to apologize. You are strong, but don’t forget that strength is built through our experiences.

14.   Learn the words to express how you feel.  You will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment.  You'll cry from fear and shout out of excitement.  If you learn the words to express your emotions, someday when you are grown, you will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.  Being able to effectively communicate doesn't make you less of a man.

15. "Be a BIG brother. Be a friend. Be a protector."

16. Treat women kindly.  Lead them into a room with your hand on the small of their back, open doors for them, hold/kiss their hand in public, tell them how much they mean to you, be strong and tender at the same time, respect them always!


17.  It is NEVER acceptable to break up with a girl over the phone.

18.  Real girls do not look like Victoria’s Secret models.  More often then not, women are beautiful because of their brain, their determination, their integrity and their heart.
 
19.  Please choose your spouse wisely.  Your wife should be your best-friend with whom you love to spend time.  She should also give me lots of grandchildren, in due time, that I can spoil and send home!

20.  Be a kind, loving, compassionate father.  Good father's are sooooo incredibly rare these days.  No matter what direction your life with your spouse takes, always be there for your children.  I hope you, nor your children, ever know the effects of an absent father.  (Es Muy Importante!!)

21.  Pray and be a spiritual leader in your home.

22. These are the best years of your life.  Enjoy every embarrassing, unfair, boring, heartbreaking-ly FANTASTIC minute of your youth. One day you will look in the mirror and the 18 year old on the inside will appear much older in the reflection!

23. Love with all your heart.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
  
24. It's perfectly acceptable to be a Momma's Boy!  We will not always get along. No matter what happens, please remember that I love you. I am not perfect by any means, and I will not always be right, but I will always want the best for you. Whether you are hurt or lost or indescribably happy, you will always have a place in my arms.  (Also, I am going to kiss and hug you no matter how big you get... you have been forewarned!!)

25. Wherever you are in life, no matter what, you can come home. I will be here – always.

♥ Mommy