My son and I rarely see eye to eye. Quite frankly, we lock horns all the time.
But we both love Jiu-Jitsu.
On the nights when my wife can’t pick him up after class, he’ll stay around and watch mine. Last night he got to bounce around and burn off some more steam, but eventually came out to watch us all roll. We had an extra guy show up late in class which gave us an odd number. At first I thought I’d just take a break. But when I saw my son watching, I decided to ask if he’d like to roll with me. I realized, at that moment, I hadn’t seen his eye’s light up much lately.
He walked onto the mat, and we began after the customary hand slap and fist bump. We rolled for almost 15 minutes straight. Gone was the days frustrations and animosity. We got out of our heads and into the moment. It was just us, doing what we both loved, together. Afterward, my son was invited to bow out with the rest of the adults, which put a huge smile on his face.
Thanks Mark. Thanks for creating the space where this can happen.