VIDEO: An Authentic Performance with my Son

Every now and then, moments come up — a time when if you could take a picture and freeze the date and time, you would. For me, that happened recently with my 5-year-old son Palmer.

Several months ago, he heard a country song by Rodney Atkins called “Watching You” and instantly determined this would be our song. It’s about a son and his dad; the son watches everything that the dad does, from cussing to praying. Basically, the son wants to be like his dad. His favorite line in the song is “I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.” He would sing it over and over. A few weeks ago, the school in which I hold a leadership position held a variety talent show in which I normally sing some type of song. I asked him if he wanted to sing with me and he immediately said, “Oh yeah dad ... let’s do the buckaroo song.”

So we started to practice and memorize the words and then finally the big night came. Palmer and I were closing the show and we walked on stage and started singing. As we sang, I looked over at him and realized I was looking at a little version of me. He’s tapping his foot — just like me. He’s holding the mic — just like me. He smiles, bows and says thank you — just like me. And I wonder, am I doing anything right to make him want to be like me? Will I be able to share my mistakes with him and teach him and will he still want to be like me? That’s really the point to the song: The dad doesn’t have to be perfect; the son just wants to be like him — imperfection and all.

That’s really a perfect description of authenticity. Teachers, pastors, parents all need to be able to admit mistakes and failure and teach our kids what it is like to move beyond the shortfall. Our children or students or schools will love us, maybe even more, because we can be real with them.

When we got home and I put Palmer to bed, I told him that I had had the most fun I have ever had singing. He leaned up, gave me a hug and said, “Me too daddy, me too.”

Here’s a look at two buddies singing together: