Someday Son...
By Hansel Herrera
10 May 2009
Two things have happened in the last year that changed my life. The first was the birth of my Son, the second was a digital camera, I received as a birthday present from my Mother and my Wife. Two gifts that have no comparison to each other. None the less, these gifts have changed my outlook on life in many ways. I cannot compare a simple camera to the complex gift of life. Yet in the last year looking through the eyepiece of that camera my senses have been on hyper drive!
I would like to think that in the last year I have seen things that I had never seen before. The truth is that I now see things that were always there, yet never noticed. Through that cameras eyepiece a plethora of unknowns has opened up for me. My firstborn Son has done the same in a very different way. For the last ten years I have helped in raising three little girls, a very rewarding job. I would not call this a simple task by any means but not as complicated as the task that lies ahead of me. A stubborn and hard headed boy is much more of a challenge than three beautiful girls. In my little boys eyes I see a passion for life unlike any other, a quest to conquer the unknown. Yet the unknown can be difficult. Looking at life through the camera has taught me to stop and look around, to cherish the things that really matter.
A beautiful sunset or the gift of life, in a picture I am able to capture the moment. Through the camera I have conquered my world. I have had to slow down and "smell the flowers", to do so. In this poem I wish to pass on to my son the meaning of life. Life is nothing without the difficulties, without the unknowns. Success is not measured on how many times you fall, but on how many times you get up. Looking at my son next to a giant African Baobab tree has made me realize how small we are in proportion to Mother Nature. My little boy and this tree humble me. This tree has endured over five decades of natures very worst, yet it still stands tall and continues to grow. The thought of giving up has never crossed its mind.
My best advise to you my son, is never give up! Continue growing no matter how big everything around you seems to be. Every now and then stop and look around, take time to notice the little things that really matter! I can afford to give you this advice beacause I have seen things from the eyepiece of a Camera.
Someday Son
You"ll be as tall as the tallest tree
As high as the highest mountain
Someday Son
There won't be any hurdles
Left for you to tackle.
For now please listen to your Dad
I was once as small as you are now.
Just like you I once looked up
I wished that I were bigger
I realize now
Looking in your little eyes
It was never size that mattered
It was passion and some courage
That always kept me going
In your eyes
I see real passion
And more relentless courage
Than I could ever dream of having
My dear Son
If any of my words hold true
Please promise you"ll remember these...
The biggest tree can topple,
under certain kind of weather.
The greatest Mountains form,
from most unexpected weather.
Dont ever give up my little man!
Love Dad.
