It didn’t even hit me until last night when I saw Uncle Jake packing up all his gear that he was leaving. Just like that, summer was over, and just like that, Uncle Jake was leaving. I must have looked pretty sad, because Uncle Jake asked me what was wrong.
“What’s wrong? You’re leaving, that’s what’s wrong.”
“Yeah, but you’re going back to school, and you will be back with all your buddies.”
“I know but…” I tried to think of a way to say what I was thinking.
“But what?” Uncle Jake asked.
“But none of those kids can help me be strong. None of those kids can teach me to do things I don’t know how to do. None of those kids are warriors, like you.”
“Hmmm,” Uncle Jake mumbled. I thought for the first time that Uncle Jake was stumped.
“How am I going to keep getting stronger and smarter and better without you around? How am I going to be a warrior all by myself?”
Uncle Jake took a hard look at me; then he said, “The truth is, you don’t need me around to be a warrior. Oftentimes, the warrior stands alone. It can happen for many reasons. Maybe he got left behind. Maybe the rest of his team got killed. Maybe he just grew old, and his fellow warriors died. Maybe he got assigned a job that put him out there, on the battlefield, by himself. None of that matters. The warrior remains strong. The warrior must know how to stand alone.”
Only my uncle Jake could make being left by myself sound cool! But I still wasn’t buying it. “Okay, but who is going to train me and help me study? Who is going to make sure I get up in the morning? Who is going to make sure I don’t go back to my old lazy ways?”
Uncle Jake answered quickly, “You don’t need me for that anymore. As a matter of fact, you never needed me. Sure, I showed you the path, but you could have found it on your own. You know what you need to do to stay on the warrior path. Hard work. Discipline. Study. Eat good food. Keep your room and your gear in order. Set new goals and work hard to meet them. Keep training jiu-jitsu. This is all stuff you know. As a matter of fact, this is all stuff you can actually teach and share with your friends. And you need to do that. You need to become a leader—to help your friends learn to be stronger and smarter and better. Teach them to be the best they can be. You have changed a lot over the summer. The other kids will see that. You will become a leader now. They will follow.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to be a leader,” I told Uncle Jake, thinking about what that would be like.
“People usually don’t feel like they are ready to be leaders. But I am telling you, you are ready.
“You know the path. And you are humble. That is the most important thing about being a leader. Remember that you don’t know everything. Listen and take advice from other people. Always be ready to learn and try to be better. Those are qualities a leader needs, and you have them. Trust me, Marc. You’re going to have a great year at school.”
With that, Uncle Jake went back to packing up all his gear, and the next morning, my mom and I drove him to the airport. When we got there I was feeling sad and wasn’t saying much. We pulled up to the airport and stopped next to the curb to drop off Uncle Jake.
I got out of the car to say good-bye.
My mom got out, too. She hugged Uncle Jake, and then she looked at him and said, “Thank you. For everything,” and after she said everything she looked right at me. Even my mom noticed how much Uncle Jake had helped me.
He gave me a hug, then reached into his bag and pulled out a little box and gave it to me. “This is for you, Warrior Kid.” He held out his hand for a shake. I gripped it and gave it a good squeeze. “Better,” he said. “But you still have work to do on that grip.” Then, just like that, he turned and walked away.
I felt sad, but I actually didn’t feel as sad as I thought I would. I opened the box. In it was a watch, just like Uncle Jake had, and on the watchband was a little compass that pointed north. There was a little note inside the box from Uncle Jake. It said The watch will help you stay disciplined by making you remember to get better every second of the day. I already set the alarm for early morning every day. The compass will remind you to stay on the warrior path. Discipline Equals Freedom. Uncle Jake.
I put the watch on, and I don’t think I will ever take it off.
