LESSONS LEARNED

Things I learned (and realized) from the KFC Father and Son bond camp.

* I'm getting old.
I used to run or walk a mile or so and climb the tallest trees in our neighborhood without any loss of breath nor
any pain in my back or legs. But the weekend camp has shown me that I could only do a quarter of these physical
activities with a lot of huffing and puffing. The solution then is to keep myself physicall fit.

* My son is smarter than I am when I was at his age.
My own dad scares me with his eerie stories at night. My son is just amused with my stories and comments that
it's only a work of fiction, exactly those words. I could never ask the questions to my own father the same
questions that were required by the camp coordinators for our sons to ask from their father. Questions like
"What is your most embarrasing moment?" or "What is your favorite toy when you were young" or "Who is you
best friend then". Because if I did, I would only get a blank stare or would just be told to go to my room and study
my lessons. I could not ask WHY I couldn't ask in the same breathe my son could ask WHY is my answer so and
so.

* Nurture and nature plays an important role in a person's character.
I am by nature a fun-loving and boisterous person but I was nurtured in a home where competition is froth
about and strict discipline imposed that sometimes "failure" leads to criticism and rebuke which will make you
hide inside your shell rather than go out of it. And that is why sometimes I display a moody personality creating
a pendulum between my natural self and my restrained temperament.

Lorenz failed to do the wall climbing activity and that night on the tent, he honestly told me he tried to be strong
but he had this fear of falling. He said he cried not because of his fear, nor the pain but because he was
embarrassed he failed. He was hoping that he could be like me, fearless, strong and competetive. But I told him,
don't try to be like me, be yourself and told him that the important thing is be gracious in defeat, be modest in
triumph and treat others the same way you would like others to treat you.

With my son Lorenz, as well as my other children, I nurture them by creating an environment that considers
"failure" an option and an opportunity to learn from it. Obviously, their good-natured character comes from their
mom and their competitive streak from me.

* I don't necessarily need a father and son camp to bond with our children.
I asked myself before the camp why I am not excited with the prospect of having that bond camp. Everyday, I
equally share a bond to each of my current six children that sometimes I bond with them more than I could bond
with my inner self. Lorenz, in fact, is excited not with the time he would be spending with me but with the
prospect of camping that he hasn't experience before.

Having said that, the biggest lesson I've learned from that camp is that a father and son bonding grabs a big part of the male specie's psyche that they would sacrifice their time, their luxuries and their wives(?) to be with a person who could be like them, a person who could be what they wanted to be but failed to do so or be that person who could pass on the legacy that their forefathers have passed on to them.

But most especially, you see it manifest by other male species who have worked hard, rendered the service to make this bonding possible. I salute the KFC coordinators for coming up with this effort. You've touched our lives and I'm personally thankful to all of you for that.