I chose to spend my Father's Day with each of my kids who are home right now, individually. An hour for each, I played tennis with Tate, played tennis with Austin, rode bikes with Nick, went exploring in the creek behind our house (mosquitos!) and played Taboo with Jacob, and something yet to be determined with Aaron. And my daughter, Bari, will be coming over after work. Tyler called me this morning from Virginia Beach where he is skateboarding and wished me the best. Each of them gave me a great card and thoughtful gifts, though it's the gift of them that I truly treasure. I love being a dad. My family is everything to me and I really can't fathom how some men abandon their kids and their families. In reading through the news, I found that Obama gave a speech, and the sections I read I heartily applaud. We need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn't just end at conception. That doesn't make you a father. What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child - any fool can have a child. That's doesn’t make you father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle, that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my children; that if I could give them anything, I would give them that rock, that foundation, on which to build their lives. I connect with that pretty well, as I grew up with an alcoholic step-father, who demonstrated more how not to be a man than how to be one. Good for Obama in calling fathers to action.The reward for me is that I have the most amazing children. In our 8-kid blended family, everyone gets along great. No one gets into trouble. All of them want to be responsible, respectful people and they show that. That's humbling to me. It's a privilege to be their dad. Today, like just about every day, I am extraordinarily thankful. |
