You Can Lead a Horse to Water

Fandango

42A58D13-0E35-4484-9105-CBA6181AF059“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” You know that old proverb, right? It essentially means that you can give someone an opportunity, but you can’t force them to take it if they don’t want to or know to.

As a father, I’ve always felt that being a mentor to my kids was my most important job. My role was to give my children every advantage I could so that they, as adults, would be able to seize the day and make the most of every opportunity they came across. I wanted to serve a guide, a role model. I wanted to help them gain the skills that would enable them to unleash their fullest potential.

My father worked six days a week, leaving the house at around 6:30 every morning and getting home no earlier than 7:00 each night. He didn’t have the time (or the inclination) to “show me the ropes.” So I was pretty much on my own, figuring things out, often the hard way, as I went along.

I didn’t want my kids to have to go through that. So I tried to supplement their formal education by being a trusted advisor, by making myself available to support and advise them when they needed it and in a way that made sense to them.

I wanted them to grow into the type of person who would know that, when led to water, they should drink.

After first confirming that it was potable, that is.

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “mentor.”

13 thoughts on “You Can Lead a Horse to Water”

  1. Marilyn Armstrong May 5, 2018 / 10:33 am

    These days, I get a lot of “Boy, I really wish I’d listened when you said …” That is less rewarding than it ought to be.

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  2. She May 5, 2018 / 11:00 am

    You sound like a wonderful father. The best are always there for their children to set them up for life, as it sounds you have. You should post some more of your fatherly advice, I am sure many would benefit from it. Age is wisdom🙂

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    • Fandango May 5, 2018 / 11:07 am

      Thanks. I tried to be a good father. But to know for sure, you’d have to ask my kids.

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      • She May 5, 2018 / 11:44 am

        It sounds like you tried a lot more than a lot of other fathers. I don’t know whether women are different, but I have always appreciated and held onto my father’s advice, as you can see from my last post. He was my saviour on many occasions when I was a child, and even now as an adult. A father’s advice is often cherished. I hope, and would assume, your children feel the same.

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