Parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual— something Clint Edwards knows all too well.
As the author of Hilarious Stories from a Father of Three Who Made All the Mistakes (and Made up for Them), Edwards is straightforward when it comes to admitting he has no idea what he’s doing with his kids. On the About Me section of his blog, he explains: “I say I have no idea what I’m doing because my father wasn’t around when I was a child.”
“I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing because I didn’t have a father in my life. I still don’t have someone to turn to when it comes to fatherly questions, so I’m making this up as I go.”
There’s something refreshing about Edwards’ honesty.
His anecdotes and stories resonate with his audience, being featured in publications such as The Washington Post, New York Times, and Scary Mommy. Followers flock to his social media pages, where he updates them on the happenings of his life. Recently, however, one story touched the heart of his readers and went completely viral. The post is about Edwards’ son Tristan. He begins:
“I often describe my 11yo as an immovable slug of a boy, so when I asked him to help me unload the dirt from our small pickup into his mother’s new garden boxes, his reaction was typical.”
Apparently, that day, Tristan was decked out in sweatpants, playing the computer game Roblox on the couch.
Upon making the request, Edwards learned Tristan was ‘too busy’ to help, the boy said.
But his dad wasn’t taking no for an answer.
After some back-and-forth struggles, Edwards succeeded in getting Tristan into the backyard.
They shoveled dirt for a few moments before the boy turned to his father and asked him: “Why do we have to do this?”
At first, Edwards wasn’t sure how to respond. Neither he nor his son was interested in flowers, but his wife Mel loved gardening in their garden.
“I thought, and he waited, and finally I said, ‘When you love someone, you serve them.'”
Chris could tell Tristan wasn’t satisfied with the answer, but he didn’t come back with a retort. The two finished up unloading the dirt, and that was the end of the lesson— or so Edwards thought.
The next day, however, Edwards was surprised to receive a picture from his wife Mel. Apparently, she had picked up another load of dirt that day, and before she’d had a chance to unload it, Tristan had instantly volunteered to help. In the post, Chris writes: “Tristan voluntarily started working.”
“When she asked him ‘why’, he shrugged and said, ‘Because I love you.”
“I’ve never been prouder of my son.”
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