Aaron C. Rhodes - Hes My Son: From the Road to Glory

HES MY
SON

From The Road To Glory

AARON C. RHODES

Copyright 2013 AARON C. RHODES.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0050-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0051-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0049-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013912009

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/3/2013

CONTENTS

Dedicated to Landyn Rhodes, Decema J. Shaw, and Lanham Gaylon Townsend

I want to acknowledge Kara Jennings, Zelda Townsend, Barbara Rogers, Lynda Tucker, and most important, my amazing wife, Teresa Rhodes, for without her, I wouldnt be here today.

Landyn

T hese were the days I had always dreaded. Being nine years old, I didnt have many memories except of toys, BB guns, and cartoons. However, if an event ever stood out as a bad memory, it would be the day of the annual fatherson breakfast at Pease Elementary in Odessa, Texas. I have a great mother and terrific grandparents, who gave all they could for my siblings and me. This was something none of them could help. I was lucky to have my twin brother, Adam, with me as we were led to the fatherless table in the lunchroom. We tried the best we could to eat our lunch as fast as possible so we could get out of there and onto the playground, where no one had their dads with them. Father after father brought Burger Place or Pizza Time into the cafeteria for their sons. Many of my friends happily sat with their fathers, eating and laughing. I resented this a little and wished this day would go away. I would see one of my friends receive a bear hug from his dad while laughing and talking with him. I wished for that to be me.

With only half his food eaten, Adam had enough and got up to go outside. I happily left the lunchroom with him and headed to the playground. We usually played tetherball or kickball, but this time, we just walked around. I asked Adam if he wished we had a dad, and he said yes. I told him if I ever had kids, I would always be with them and never let them feel like we did that day. He said he would do the same. Adam just wanted to go home. I did as well. But it wasnt going to happen; we just had to stick it out. As we continued our walk, I dreamed of the day I would have kids. I decided I would name my son Landyn, after my grandfather. I thought of being there for him and never leaving his side. I especially wanted to be there for him when he was sad so I could give him a great big hug, just like the hug I needed then. Adam and I continued our walk on the playground while wishing we were somewhere else.

Once we were home, I sat on our swing that hung under the patio. We were living at my grandparents house in Odessa. I loved being out there, because it was so spacious. My grandparents, Zelda and Gaylon, had purchased a larger home with the anticipation that family might live with them. The property was on three acres and included horse stalls. My grandparents had one horse, which actually belonged to my mother. The horse was solid white, and we called her Tonka. From the swing I could see Tonka and would often sit there when I was sad.

It had been a hard day at school. Now that I was home, it was easier to get emotional, and I started crying. I heard someone ask, Are you okay? I turned and saw it was Gaylon. He noticed I was crying and came around to sit on the swing with me. Gaylon always carried a handkerchief in his pocket, and he pulled it out to wipe my face. Gaylon was always very gentle and had a soothing spirit. He put one arm around me and wiped my face with the other. We sat there in silence for a little while, as Gaylon let me get the sadness out of my system. Once I settled down, he asked, What is bothering you? I explained to him about fatherson day and that I was upset my father didnt want to be with us.

Gaylon replied, We dont know why people do bad things to others, especially when its to their own kids. The most important thing you can learn from the experience is to strive to be a better man when you get older and to always be there for your family.

I asked if I could be like him when I got older. He responded, You need to be like Christ. He always acted out of love and compassion for everyone He met. Men can let you down, but Christ never does. I asked if he believed in Christ, and he said yes and thats why he lived the way he did.

While Gaylon and I swung on the swing, I prayed to God He would make me like Him and that He would come into my heart. I also asked that He one day made me a good daddy, just like Gaylon was to me. All of a sudden, everything seemed better. I was very happy to have Gaylon on the swing with me and Christ in my heart. We swung for a long time, and I kept wishing we could stay on it forever.

P ease Elementary hadnt changed much over the years. The best part about the school was the large playground on its property. I had brought my own son, Landyn, to play on the same playground where I played as a child. His hand seemed so small in mine as we held the kite string. I could see the joy in Landyns eyes as the kite dipped and dove. My smile grew bigger as Landyns little laugh got louder with each dive of the kite bringing it closer to the ground. I marveled at how his beautiful brown hair matched his brown eyes. He was warm in my lap as I held him. I knew that moment would be one of the best memories of my lifetimeyou know, one of those times in life when everything stops and all is perfect. I never wanted that moment to end.

Teresa sat against me, one arm around me and the other around Landyn. She was so beautiful! Her long, beautiful, blonde hair blew lightly in the west Texas wind. It was truly a sight to see. Her beautiful green eyes seemed to say she was also happy. She looked over at me and smiled, and I returned the gesture. Another giggle from Landyn was all that could draw me away from Teresas beautiful eyes.

We brought our football with us to get Landyn ready for the upcoming flag football season. He was so excited, since we were going to be his favorite teamthe Odessa High School Bronchos. The excitement was flowing through him earlier in the day when he had found out we got the team name. He had always wanted one of his teams to be called the Mini Bronchos, and now he would get his wish. He couldnt wait to tell Odessas head coach, Jim Carson, whom we had developed a bond with, and his favorite player, Travis young. We had just bought Landyn his new Broncho jersey, with Traviss number 5 on it. It had become a running theme to see whose number Landyn would choose each year. But that day, football would have to wait until we finished our kite time.