Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - 321 | interviewing our five year old son

Episode Date: July 29, 2026

A birthday letter to my son, Jett, on his fifth birthday. We've been reflecting on a year full of milestones- motorcycle rides, first football games, funny one-liners, and sweet moments of growing curiosity and faith. Then, stick around for the cutest birthday interview, where Jett answers questions about his favorite things, our family, and all his big dreams for the future. Love, Dad book ▶ https://thecouragetocommit.com/ newsletter ▶ https://www.familymade.com/newsletter podcast instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/shawnandandrewpods/ shawn's instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/ShawnJohnson shawn's tik tok ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnjohnson facebook page! ▶ https://www.facebook.com/ShawnJohnson andrew’s Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/AndrewDEast andrew’s tik tok ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewdeast?lang=en (00:00) a letter to jett (12:30) an interview with jett (13:00) what it feels like to be five (14:00) why do we have birthday parties? (14:30) all about jett james east (16:50) jett's favorite things (18:50) what we're most excited about at five (20:44) wishing big adventures for jett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jetter, happy birthday, bud. Five years old, I cannot believe it, man. What a good right. It's been. It's been so fun watching you grow up and learn and become more of the man God is making you to be. It's been a great year. And I wrote you a letter that I wanted to read you in case you ever want to reflect on

your fourth year of life. And over the last 12 months, I guess I've sent you somewhere around. 70 emails, and this is kind of a summary of all those of the little moments that we shared together, milestone moments, ways you've grown, and I hope you enjoy this. It says, Dear Jet, today you are five years old. This past year, I've tried to write down the little moments that I knew I would otherwise forget the funny things you said, the brave things you did, the ways you grew, and the glimpses you gave me of the person you're becoming. And buddy, what a year it's been.

You started four by saying, Daddy, let me tell you something. Some sing is how you said it, which is still one of my favorite ways you begin a conversation. You tucked every shirt into your pants because apparently baseball season or maybe our trip to the Bahamas convinced you that all clothing should look professional. You called me bro and then had the awareness to ask, why do you call me bro when I'm your son? you also asked when you would get to be a dad, and I loved hearing that because it meant even at four years old, fatherhood already looked like something worth wanting. You became one of the most encouraging people in our family. You told me, Dad, you're a beast. You assured me that if I keep practicing, I might someday become a really good motocrosser. You told me I looked handsome,

and you regularly told Drew she looked beautiful. I hope you never lose that instinct. You have a gift for making people feel stronger, more confident, and more loved. This was the year you entered the world of football. Before your first camp, you announced that you wanted to play football for a really long time, just like Daddy. Then came your first four-year-old flag football game, which somehow involved uniforms, referees, captains, a coin toss, complicated rules I had not yet read, and another coaching staff that was taking the whole thing far more seriously than I expected. You pulled flags, executed a gold line stand. and helped us win 26 to 24, and the owner of the Cleveland Browns,

was out there watching as well. True story. But what made me proudest wasn't winning. It was watching you listen, compete, have courage, and throw yourself into something new. You did that all year long. At Lake Lemon, you tried water skiing for the first time and stood up on your very first attempt. You rode motorcycles and moved on to your cool new yellow cobra Jr. 50-C. bike. You learned how to kickstart it and handled the extra weight and acceleration like you had been waiting for that your whole life.

When I asked you what treasure God had given you, you first said, God is my treasure, which was music to my ears. And then you reconsidered and said, I think my best treasure is motorcycles. Fair enough. You became so committed to motorcycles that live life like Jet became our neighbor's motto. although Neil Johnson added that anyone doing so should probably carry good insurance. You rode bikes around the house, fell off a chairlift while leaning forward to see your cousin Liam, and generally attacked life with the assumption that your body would survive whatever idea entered your mind. Your PE coaches at school even joked that when you fell, they didn't check on you, they checked on the floor.

You were tough, but this year tested that toughness too. One peaceful Sunday morning, you and Drew started jumping on our bed. bed. That became wrestling with blankets over your heads, which became you falling into my nightstand. Dr. Patel came over and stitched you up through three layers, more than 30 stitches, and you handled it all like the brave little guy you are. I hated watching get hurt, but I was incredibly proud of you. Your independence seemed to appear overnight. One day you couldn't buckle yourself or clean yourself up. Suddenly, you could do both. After four and a half years, you went four nights without a pull-up, and diapers quietly became part of your past.

Around the same time, I realized that after six years of warming bedtime bottles for the kids, nobody needed them anymore. Childhood chapters sometimes end without any announcement. One night, you need us to do everything, and then suddenly you don't. Although your appetite still requires significant parental support, you could eat three oatmeal go bars before our early morning workouts, drink five glasses of milk at night, and apparently finish an entire full-sized jersey mic sandwich.

You developed a helpful way of explaining these decisions with quotes like, my body needs a snack or when convenient, my body needs to sleep. Our 5.45 a.m. gym mornings became one of my favorite rhythms that we have. We would wake up, drink water, say what we were grateful for, pray together, collect your three bars, and head to the gym. When I was sick and stopped getting up early, you came into our room asking why I wasn't working out and I realized that you were already watching me and that wanting to be the man you thought I was could really help me become a better man. I know you look up to me. You once announced

that you weren't wearing underwear because you were being just like daddy. That wasn't necessarily the lesson I hoped you would take for my example, but I appreciate the sentiment. You grew intellectually too. Rhyming had frustrated you for months and then one day on the way to the Austin airport, it clicked. You started asking whether everything rhymed with everything else. You became able to sit and draw football players for 15 minutes at a time. Bedtime stories became more fun because you and Drew were suddenly locked into the plot, asking questions and remembering details. You finished your first pre-K four year at your new school, and mom and I loved seeing you at school, especially when we brought popsicles for your birthday celebration. You gave me the biggest hug. I lifted you up over my

head and your classmates lost their minds. You made friends everywhere. Thomas became your best and when you asked if you could tell me an awesome story, the entire story was simply Thomas and I are best friends. At the new house, you met Finn, Percy, and Carter, and immediately started riding the go-kart, running through the woods, and exploring together. At the pool, you met Durham and spent your day swimming, jumping off the diving board, playing basketball,

and eventually strilling up to ask for our membership number so you could charge snacks of the account. Entrepreneurial, slightly concerning, very cute. We moved into our new house this year. Our first family dinner there felt magical. We had a fire going, roasted chicken with white sauce, questions from Drew, chatter from bear, and all three of you laughing. You said you were glad we moved because you really liked your bathroom.

And honestly, after all the effort they went into this house, I was really grateful for any positive review. The new house brought new adventures. We got 10 baby chicks and you learned to be gentle and help care for them. We started keeping bees and you eagerly put on your suit. When Jenna opened a struggling hive, you found the queen bee in less than a minute, something she said she had never seen anyone do in her 10 years of beekeeping. And you asked Dave wonderful questions and tried to make sense of the fact that he was built different

before eventually telling him, you're my height, but you're a dad. You have always been curious, but your deepest questions this year were about God and love. And after hearing about baptism at church, you asked question after question and said you wanted to be baptized. You asked mom whether God was bigger than daddy. That's the only person I'll say yes to that question for. You wondered what it meant to walk with God in the garden, which is a song I sing often to you all,

and whether you would be allowed to go into the garden alone when you became an adult. You can do it now, buddy. On a family hike when everyone shared what they were thankful for, you said you were thankful for God. One night, your final words before bed were, do you know that you've got God in your heart? I hope you always keep asking those questions.

I don't want you to settle for borrowed faith or easy answers. I want you to know God personally to keep searching and to let your life be an honest response to his love. You also thought deeply about human love. You asked mom how your teacher saying she loved you was different than the love daddy has for mom. And then you asked, how do I find a love like you and dad?

I pray that someday you do, but first, I hope the love in our home teaches you that you never have to earn your worth. You even help mom and me love each other better. Once, when you sense tension between us, you walked over and said, just say you're sorry and let's go. It was so simple and so wise, and it snapped us both out of our funk. Marriage counselors have charged a lot more money for worse advice. There were so many little moments I wanted to remember.

You wore Papa and my brother, guys, old cycling, singlets nonstop. You called the New Year's Eve ball, dropped the gumball. You love Spy Kids and watched it often. You love Queen and Nathan Evans, Lecray and NF, the rappers. You ran naked and laughing through the playroom after Bass. You played ninja with Drew and became Oakley's bedtime sleepover buddy. You asked Quinn for a kiss. Your strongest bad word was the S word.

I won't say it. Stupid. You woke up bananas at an unthinkable hour, sat on the couch, and what appeared to be a meditation pose, and responded to me startling you with, dude, what the heck? You still put your shirts on backwards. At this point, I'm not convinced it's an accident.

You also produce farts so appallingly smelly that I regularly worried you had pooped your pants, and you found this much funnier than I did. And you gave us the great alcohol scare by confessing that you had consumed alcohol at the playground, and after a mild parental investigation, the contraband turned out to be stale Coca-Cola in a plastic bottle. Glass, but not glass is how you described it.

I have never been so relieved by an old Coke. The consistent thread through all these stories is your joy, Jet. You laugh spontaneously. You get excited so fully that while watching a movie with headphones on, you'll yell, I love this part, I love this part, I love this part. You don't just experience life. You throw your whole body into it. You're brave, curious, affectionate, physical, hilarious, encouraging, hungry, occasionally reckless, but deeply alive.

As you turn five, I want you to know that I don't love you because you got up on water skis or that you played great defense in football or that you found a queen bee or rode a motorcycle or handled stitches without falling apart. I'm proud of all those things, but they are not why you are valuable. I love you because you are my son. My prayer is that you keep your courage without losing your tenderness. That you keep your confidence while learning humility. That you keep asking questions about God, love, and the world.

That you become strong enough to protect people and gentle enough to make them feel safe. That you keep encouraging others. that you keep apologizing quickly and that you keep telling me daddy let me tell you something and that however big your adventures become you always know there's a home a family and a dad who cannot believe he gets to love you happy fifth happy fifth birthday buddy live life like jet i love you and i love you forever cheers dad You know what time it is? Uh-uh.

You know what time it is? No. What'd you do this weekend? It was my birthday. Give me some, dude. And how old are you now? Five. You're five, dude.

Little man is five years old. How does it feel to be five? Good. It, like, kind of feels, like, good. Yeah? Yeah. It feels, like, a... It feels like, like, good, bad good.

Bad good? Why bad? Because, one, because... Here, just put your mouth on the... Yeah, there you go. One, because, um, um, um, and he didn't come over. Oh, your party? Yeah.

Here, just, just keep this right here. Just keep that right there. Okay. So, that's, that's the bad one thing. And the other bad thing, they didn't get to stay for dinner time. Well, you stayed up late, dude. We've been staying up late this summer because you're a big boy now. We went staying up and watching the fireflies and having a good time.

I know. What did we do for your birthday party? We had slipping slides? What? Mega slides. Mega slides. Here, here. But why do we have birthday parties instead of getting older without birthday parties?

I love that question, bro. I love that question. Okay, so what's your full name? Jet James East. That's right. And what grade are you in now? J.K. That's right.

Right? And tell me about the school that you go to? Okay. What? JK. No, the school that you go to. But what does that mean? JK? No, what is, what are you talking about?

Your school. Like the one before that? You started a new school this year, didn't you? Yes, I did. Do you like it so far? Yes. What do you like about it? Because my classmates are in there.

Not Thomas. Samuel, Jeff, and Ellis. Who's your best friend? Samuel and Dev. But at the playground, you always used to play with and get in trouble with... And they're in trouble. Oh, you got in trouble with everybody?

No. only um samuel dev and thomas what's your favorite thing to do play with him play with them what's your favorite sport that's your favorite sport yes who's your coach going to be daddy yeah baby what do you want to be when you grow up player? An NFL? Yeah. Football. How fast do you run?

Faster and daddy? No. Not yet. Because you need to run really fast. You play football. That's right. How many touchdowns did you get?

Depends on a different level. I got a few. I got enough. Yeah, me too. Yeah. What's your favorite thing about home? that we're going to have monkey bars downstairs and fun stuff done this do you like to play inside or outside inside because there's more colder when you come inside there's more what quarter quarter

quarter quarter oh it's air conditioning yeah we live in a where do we live in the forest in what city Nashville what state Tennessee Where are a lot of your cousins? At Indiana. Indie. Indie? Yeah, that's right. What's been your favorite trip that we've done this summer?

To go to Indiana. Oh, when we went to the lake? Yes. Wait, right, here. What's your favorite toy to play with? What toys did you get for your birthday? Who loves you? Mommy and Daddy.

And who else? Kevin. Don't touch that. Cedons. And who else? Who do we talk about at church? God and Jesus. Do you know that God loves you?

Yep. Do you know that dad loves? Why do I never meet Jesus? You might not meet him like you do a normal person, but he's with you in a really cool way. Huh? Right. You listen good at church?

Yep. What did you learn at church this past week? I don't remember. What are you most excited about being a five-year-old? The what? You're excited to turn six because you're five? Yeah. Do you like riding your motorcycle?

Yes, but then. Really? Yep. Where? Hey, what good does whining do? Nothing. Huh? Nothing.

Nothing. And if we want to make, if we want to be a good boy, we got to make good what? Why do I need to put that out? There you go. Because it's got to be, because you don't want to touch it. Don't want to touch it. What plans do you have today? You want to sit on my lap?

Okay, deal. Here. Is that mommy? Yep. That's mommy. Tell me about your mommy. Hello. She loves me.

She loves you? Yeah? And nothing else. Tell me about your daddy. He loves me. Yeah. And who do you get to see every day? Who comes over every day?

You. Yeah. Mimi and Poppy. Not Mimi and Poppy. You see them every day, dude. No, I don't. You see them every day. No, I don't.

Yeah, you do. Literally. Every day? No, I don't. Okay. What are some of our chickens' names? Hot Coco. Ruby?

Brownie. Yeah? What are some adventures you want to take this year? Look at Dad. It's floating. Yeah, it is floating. Is that a spider? What are some adventures you want to take this year?

Dad, I really want to go on the adventure where I used to ride when I was four in. Sorry. Which one? The forest one where we walk in the forest and park. Like camp? No. Where, like, where we park, me and you, we park in that little spot, and we go up where the, Oh, the hike.

Yeah. Yeah. Will we see the flags? Yeah. That's a good idea. I like that. You do it today or tomorrow. Yeah, we should be able to do it today or tomorrow.

Can you do it today, please? Yeah, let's all go over there. Today? Yeah. Hey, look at me. Happy birthday. I'm very proud of you. You're a good boy.

I'm not done. And it's been so fun watching you grow up and become a good boy and love others and be strong but not stronger in daddy. Right. Yeah. And remember what you promised me that you can grow up as long as you... Love me. Still love me. That's right.

And I love how you take care of your siblings. And I love how you learn. And I love how you are so curious and so passionate. What's passionate? Passionate? I never heard that. It means like... Wow, that's a good question.

It means like you love what you do. Do you feel like that's you? Yes. Yeah? Are you all done? Okay. Hey, give me a hug. Ah! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.