Chris Jones Talks Fatherhood, New Book, Legs Hearts Minds, Writing, Soccer & More

Can you kind of share some of the values you're looking to instill into them?

I guess those sort of evolve over time.

Well, yeah.

Yeah.

So Charlie's 20, Sammy's 18.

Charlie has autism, which is almost certainly because of his birth.

You know, when they took him out, he had some fluid on his brain.

You know, we've never been told definitively, you know, autism is a very mysterious spectrum still.

With Charlie, my goal for Charlie is for him to be happy and for me to be okay with his definition of happy.

So again, going back to, you're not sure what kind of kids you're going to get.

You imagine your kids getting married and going to college and getting jobs and playing sports and having their own kids and you being a granddad.

And none of that is going to happen with Charlie.

Um, We're very lucky in the sense that he's super loving, he's verbal, but he's got some pretty profound challenges and, you know, a quote unquote typical life won't happen for him.

But he's delighted by life.

He's actually one of the happiest people I know.

And over the 20 years we've had him, I've come to terms with.

his meeting the world through his standards, not my standards.

Uh, and I think that's an important part of sort of the evolution of my fatherhood.

Um, you might want certain things, but, but it's what your kids want.

So all I want for Charlie is for him to be joyous and happy forever.

And the sweet, innocent boy that he is, um, And he is that, you know, I feel like Charlie is a great success in a lot of ways because he's, you know, you'll, I'll say, Charlie, you happy boy today? And he'll be like, yep.

And, and he just is, he's, he's always happy.

Wakes up happy, goes to bed happy.

Sammy is very much like me.

So he's 18.

Can you kind of share some of the values you're looking to instill into them?

I guess those sort of evolve over time.

Well, yeah.

Yeah.

So Charlie's 20, Sammy's 18.

Charlie has autism, which is almost certainly because of his birth.

You know, when they took him out, he had some fluid on his brain.

You know, we've never been told definitively, you know, autism is a very mysterious spectrum still.

With Charlie, my goal for Charlie is for him to be happy and for me to be okay with his definition of happy.

So again, going back to, you're not sure what kind of kids you're going to get.

You imagine your kids getting married and going to college and getting jobs and playing sports and having their own kids and you being a granddad.

And none of that is going to happen with Charlie.

Um, We're very lucky in the sense that he's super loving, he's verbal, but he's got some pretty profound challenges and, you know, a quote unquote typical life won't happen for him.

But he's delighted by life.

He's actually one of the happiest people I know.

And over the 20 years we've had him, I've come to terms with.

his meeting the world through his standards, not my standards.

Uh, and I think that's an important part of sort of the evolution of my fatherhood.

Um, you might want certain things, but, but it's what your kids want.

So all I want for Charlie is for him to be joyous and happy forever.

And the sweet, innocent boy that he is, um, And he is that, you know, I feel like Charlie is a great success in a lot of ways because he's, you know, you'll, I'll say, Charlie, you happy boy today? And he'll be like, yep.

And, and he just is, he's, he's always happy.

Wakes up happy, goes to bed happy.

Sammy is very much like me.

So he's 18.