Dad Thoughts

Happy Fathers’ Day to all my fellow dads. What an amazing role we play in the lives of our children. It’s an honor. It’s hard work. It’s rewarding. It’s fun. It’s never ending. With all the attacks on the patriarchy lately, it’s scary that fatherhood comes from the same root word. But, really, there are a lot of us good ones out there. We’re just trying to raise happy, content, well-adjusted kids.

I first became a dad in 1972. Many would say that I was too young to be a dad. I was only nineteen. Maybe they were right. At that point I didn’t even know how to balance a checkbook, but there I was with the responsibility of being a father to my first little girl, Amy. You learn fast when you have to. It wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always fun. But, you know what, Amy and I had a wonderful relationship that I will treasure always. Sadly, she left us at seventeen. Almost thirty four years later, I’m still her dad.

I last became a dad in 2002. Many would say that I was too old to be a dad. I was fifty. Maybe they were right. At that point, my life was pretty settled, thinking ahead toward retirement and taking it easy. But there I was, changing diapers again, this time for Emma. Things come back to you pretty quickly. It wasn’t always easy. it wasn’t always fun. But, you know what, Emma and I have a wonderful father/daughter relationship. I must have done something right. Unlike with Amy, this time I got to see my little baby girl turn into a responsible adult.

I also became a dad at twenty-two to my only son, Andy. We also have a great relationship. I am proud to see how he is as a father himself. A good career, two loving children, amazing wife and a beautiful home. If our job, as fathers, is to create well-adjusted adults, his life validates that good work.

In the end, all of us dads are really just winging it. We are operating on instincts and on what we learned about life from our own fathers. Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we get it just right. Most of the time we are in the middle of all that just surviving and trying our best. Again, Happy Father’s Day to my fellow dads. We rock!

How about a dad joke ending? What concert costs just 45 cents? 50 Cent, featuring Nickelback.