Father's Day

Good Morning!

First of all...happy Father's Day to all of the dad's out there.  I believe there is NOTHING in this world more important that a man can do to contribute to mankind than being a good husband and father.  Many of the issues that we face today can be traced directly to the lack of a father figure in so many lives.  

My father was raised in a very different age than I was, and certainly different than that of my children.  He was raised to believe that a father was the sole provider and disciplinarian. The mother's "job" was to tend the house and raise the children.  It might be easy today to look down on a stereotypical upbringing like this, but this was just the society he and his parents grew up in.  There were not a lot of expressions of love and affection to go along with this set of beliefs.  It was more an implied thing.  After all....putting food on the table and having a bed to sleep in shows that he cared about you.

I think I can safely say that I am different than my dad in many ways.  He is extremely mechanically inclined.  He has worked on cars and machines and all sorts of stuff.  I'm lucky if I can get a can opener to work right (no...seriously).  When my employees saw me with a tool in my hand, they would make sure somebody had a phone at the ready to call 9-1-1 (no..seriously).  My dad is not what I would consider a social and expressive person.  I teach classes, write blogs, and smile at strangers.  My dad believes that strength is about how you project how strong you are, while I believe strength is how vulnerable you can allow yourself to be.

There are a few things that I am very blessed to have learned from him however.  I learned that being a good father is to be fearlessly devoted.  I've learned that being honest and doing the right thing is what has to be done, even when it's painful.  I've learned that I make the world better when I raise my children to have respect for others.  And I've learned that while I'm on this earth, no matter how I choose to do it, I should be a person that can be relied upon by his family and friends.

If I leave this earth tomorrow, I want people to say that I was a good neighbor, a good friend, a good husband, and most especially a good dad.  I want my children to live on and know that they were loved and cherished in the best way their dad knew how.  And I want for my daughter to someday carry that love and devotion to her own husband and children.

Happy Father's Day to all dad's out there.  And God bless.     Tom