~

CELEBRATE?
Should I celebrate my Dad being a dad?
Some would shout, “No!”
Some would yell, “Yes!”

~

NO
My face is flushed because as a Dad, I know I’ve made tons of mistakes.

• I wasn’t an absent father, yet
  I recognize I could’ve done more.
  I didn’t understand that then.

Nonetheless, I feel humbled and gratified when my kids say, “Thanks for being my Dad.”
Honestly I think they’re saying, “You’re not perfect Dad, but being our father never was an option for you, and we salute that.”

~

YES
What I sense I did partly right:
I often got involved in my children’s lives, even though it sometimes made them uncomfortable. Fort example:

• I attended baseball games and clapped, hollared, and whistled.
  I paced the sidelines at soccer games and voiced my approval (and disapproval).
  I sat, until I couldn’t, then anxiously walked the deck at city swim meets.

I tried to hang out with my son when he needed me to.
Most of the time I hung out with my daughter when she needed me to.

• I was the rare father attending PTA meetings. The chairperson acknowledged my presence, “Sir! Sir! Will you kindly take your seat and let someone else have the floor?”

~

THEN TOO
I sat them on my lap when they were pint-size and read to them.
I poured my (limited) wisdom into their innocence.
I didn’t beg or bribe them to get better grades on their report cards. Also,

• I took them camping until their Mom said she wouldn’t, any longer, sleep on the ground in a tent. (That’s when we bought the red Toyota pickup with a camper shell and threw a double sized mattress in the back—remember?)

I let them win at games sometimes.
I was fairly civil to those who wanted to date my daughter.

~

AND
We, often, ate dinner or lunch or breakfast together.
We went to church as a family.

I taught them to value the Bible because
I value it.
I prayed with them and for them (and I still do).
I loved (and love) their Mom.

~

FINALLY
At the time, raising my children, I guess I didn’t have motives much beyond, “I want my kids to grow up healthy and become responsible God honoring citizens.”

Now though, I’m hoping they won’t be embarrassed to be around me when I need my diaper changed.

***