Now...Max gets some lessons about fatherhood!
Chapter 20: Parenting (Male's Perspective)
Later that evening, Max went over to Akashi's room alongside Akashi, Musaki, Arizona and Ryosuke to talk a little bit about parenthood from their perspective and Musaki said, "Congrats on being a dad, Max. I know you'll make a great father."
"Thanks, Saki." Max added.
Then, Taiga comes in to join in on the conversation too as he sat down on the ground close to Max and he said, "Maximus...all of us men have one thing in common; we all have experiences of being a father. So we'd like to give you some tips and advice on how to be a great father."
Akashi went in first as he started to give Max a few basic perspective on what it is to be a father and he said, "Many people don't realize it, but being a father is a very continuous job. Once you start becoming a dad, you're now responsible to not only protect your cub, but to teach him or her some good values and to grow up being a leader instead of a follower."
Musaki nodded his head at that and he said, "You also wanna make sure that your cub is taken care of just like you're taking care of Saori. When the baby takes a first look at you and you look at the little one, there's this huge overwhelming feeling over you that makes you say, 'Wow...I'm really a father.' You realize that it's all about the kid instead of you."
Taiga nodded his head at that, despite the fact that he's spent the majority of his years taking care of Saori and he said, "I've always wanted to give advice to my son-in-law and I'll tell you this; being a father has it's huge tasks. You have to sacrifice everything you have to take care of your cub and your willingness to do anything and everything you can to make sure they're loved; physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally."
Max nodded his head at this and he said, "Absoultely right. There's one question: how do you get through being nervous? I've never been a dad before and I just wanna make sure I don't mess it up."
"We all felt the same way you felt when we became fathers...to our own kids, I mean. You always worry about 'what if I'm not a good enough father?'. If you keep thinking about these things, you won't be a good father. I felt the same way when I first had my son and Akashi gave me great advice on how to be a good dad and to always take care of my wife and my son. The minute my son was born...I can't tell you how much I've cried like a puppy when I first held him in my arms. It just...there's that feeling in your heart when you realize you created life and it's been brought to the world. There's no better feeling." Arizona explained.
"I felt the same way when I had Akami. Even though I had made it just in time after I fought Ryosuke, being a father is very rewarding." Akashi added.
"Same goes for me. I became a dad at 19 when I took in those young foxes. I had made a promise to their birth fathers that I have to take care of them right after they were killed by someone who used to work under Lord Shen's army. And I kept that promise 14 years later...and when I had my birth son, Takashi...life changed as we know it." Musaki added.
Ryosuke chimed in on this and he said, "Being a dad is really important. You have to teach them respect, compassion, discipline, integrity and always to make sure he's a leader, so he can grow to be a man."
"What if it's a girl?" asked Akashi.
"Well...it still applies." Ryosuke added.
Max took all of those tips to heart and he knew he was gonna use them very well and Arizona stated, "But there is one thing you have to know; there's no such thing as a perfect parent. Kids will make mistakes and that's okay...same way as us adults. We just learn from our mistakes and use them as a teaching experience so they won't have to emulate them."
"Except for Akashi. Akami's much more mature than he is." Ryosuke stated.
Akashi looked at Ryosuke like he was offended by those words and he said, "I am mature. I can still be a young pup at heart."
"And you play that perfectly well." Musaki stated.
Akashi rolled his eyes at that and Taiga stated, "Before we go immature, we all wanna wish you the best at being a good parent."
"Thanks, Taiga. I'm gonna give my cub something I never had...and that was love. I never had it from my birth father and my birth mother. What I got in my early years were intimidation, abuse and fear. I don't wanna put my kids through that." Max stated.
"And you won't have to. You've been strong enough to move forward and I know that your kids will never experience what you've experienced." Akashi added.
Max smiled at that and he blinked his eyes a few times and he stated, "You're right. I'll be the best father I know I can be."
Arizona chuckled at that and rubbed his head and said, "Still the same determined, can-do tiger...only much older and wiser."
"And good-looking too." Max said, flexing his muscles.
Next up...Saori gets lessons about motherhood.