Life is invariable on only one thing, Conor; how much it actually varies... And the best part of that is coming to grips with the understanding that you will quite literally learn something new every single day. It's kind of treat if you look at it in the right light!
I have no disillusion you'll one day proclaim to know it all. We all do. But that only happens because, though you may begin to know yourself, you irrevocably know nothing of anybody or anything else. Wisdom can only be gained through time and experience, and as you'll no doubt learn, the more wisdom you gain, the less you proclaim to know...
I've not come to this train of thought through some Earth shattering discovery, Son. In fact, quite the opposite. Now and again you'll have things in your life that will rear up on you as though an unbroken horse deciding to misbehave just when you settle into the saddle. In reality, you already know the horse is going to buck, it's only a matter of time. But if ignored, when he rears his head and decides to test you, if you're not paying attention you end up with a broken nose and a busted ego.
Yes Boy'O, something I suppose I've always known was just trotting down the trail and I was riding along as though the pasture was just around the bend, to keep the unbroken horse metaphor. Though as predicted, the bastard bucked and BAM, two black eyes... Inexplicably this puts me in a bad mood because, Heaven forbid I take responsibility for the obvious; I always knew that damn horse was going to buck, but I ignored it none the less, paid the price, and got what was coming to me...
Again, it's nothing of any real consequence, just something I'd been ignoring for some time simply for the fact that I didn't want to deal with it. Though of course, after ruining my night last night, and likely your Mother's, by being an irritable bear, I woke up this morning and addressed the issue as I should have done long before I started ignoring it in the first place. But these are those lessons, Son. And they're the reason I'm writing to you at all.
Inevitably you're going to make your own mistakes and learn from them, but as parents we're tasked with giving you all the advice and instruction we can so as to help you in avoiding the same. It never really works, but the effort is made willingly, happily, and in the hopes you take away some small part of the instruction and / or advice. So let this be a lesson to you, Conor. When you know that horse is gonna buck, you can still take that ride! But don't be surprised when he throws you because you were either to lazy to break him, or to proud to think that you had to...
That's all for tonight, Boy'O. I'm gonna turn back to my cocktail and a bit of relaxation before turning in. But I'll leave you with this, Son. Make good decisions and you'll be just fine. Though if you don't, realize it's nobody's fault but your own, take responsibility, learn from it, and move on. It's all we can do.
I love you, Conor...
-Dad
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