A Couple of Three
My son turned eighteen last week
Thinks he's all manned up now
Believin' I saw him struttin a bit
Decided to tell him 'bout the cabbage and the cow
Seein as to how he was just eighteen
Figured ol' dad was entitled one more lesson
So took him aside for a chat
Time for one final impression
Before I got in to speechifyin'
He up and asks me straight
"Dad, what did you and Mom do
When you romanced her on that first date?"
Now why would he ask me that?
I'm thinkin he's gonna distract me
We've rode that trail before
Why not drop it, just let it be?
Decidin' to ignore his question
I took in a big breath of air
Readyin' to impart life's wisdom
Demonstrate a father's care
Before I can exhale any
The lad looks me straight in my eye
"I know you've told me before Dad
But here's the reason why"
"See, you and Mom have stuck it out
And I ain't blind, not every day's been a winner
So I wanna know how you set the stage
How you stayed glued through thick and thinner"
"It's important for me to understand
How the strongest couple I know
Got to be so successful in life
And why, during tough times, you didn't just let go"
Well that set me back on my heels
He'd surely got me blindsided
Couldn't rightly figure what to say
Best get this right I decided
"Go ask your mother", was
My first inclination to say
But I stopped short a doin so
Not the image I wanted to portray
That's when I felt outta nowhere
A comfort and caring spirit
In that moment I knew
What to say if only he'd hear it
'Well Son, reckon you'll not find it romantic
It weren't all filled with laughter
But I'll tell you the straight story
Seein the truth is what you're after"
"I'd struggled 'n been rode rough
During my thirties and before
So I'd learned a few things
Had notions by which I set store"
"It wasn't exactly on the first date
But once I could see this was a match
Had to tell her of my ideas
Of how to make this thing catch"
I told her, "Most people would call us a couple
If we hitched up 'tween you and me
But for this pair to really work
It would have to be a team of three"
"Any marriage to be successful
To endure and prosper robustly
Had to include a tie breaker
Someone to ensure all went justly"
"For me that had to mean Jesus
Would at the center of our marriage abide
Every dispute that we couldn't settle
Would on His tribunal be tried"
My son's face took on a slight grin
As he said, "Of course. Got it, thanks Dad
Now I know you had something to say
What was it that you had?"
I let out an uncomfortable laugh
Said I couldn't exactly recall just now
But whatever I had to say
Musta gotten out somehow
I slept well that night
Assured my son would get by
I hadn't given him credit
For absorbing the teaching of his mother and I
by Rik Goodell
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