To the sperm donors, this is not for you. Or the absentee fathers. Or the, “Who really is my father?!” fathers. I’m talking about the real dads, the genuine men.
Do you know your father? Do you know who he is, who he was and who he wants to be? Being a single dad pretty much all of my kids lives, I feel confident they know me through and through. They don’t see quite all, nor should they, but they see who I am. The struggles I face, the work I do, the victories I win, the future I plan. I have hope and confidence that my son will one day be a wonderful father, and that my twin daughter’s won’t grow up with “daddy issues”.
We should all have that opportunity, right? To have the blessing of seeing a not perfect parent, yet pretty flipping amazing role model daily. It’s not a prerequisite; I did not have an ideal, adoring, time-well-spent father just like many people, yet I chose to not repeat what I saw growing up. I’m probably him more than I’d like to think, but ultimately I feel like I’ve exceeded light years past his version of fatherhood.
What if your father was Darth Vader? I guess look at Luke Skywalker. I’d assume a pretty good dad, unless of course he still fancied his sister and ended up marrying her. His kids might be a tad messed up. Or what about Lord Denethor from LOTR The Return of the King? He was a lunatic and a ridiculously bad father, attempting to burn his son alive, after learning his favorite son was killed. They were pretty bad ass dudes, Boramir and Faramir. I bet they would have broken the cycle just fine.
So a salute is most definitely in order for those men that are willing to lead, to listen, to discipline and to love unconditionally. These men are far from perfect, but they all make a clear choice to put in the effort and to go the distance, no matter what obstacle life sets in the way. And for those with a Homer Simpson, or a Hannibal Lecter for a daddy…whoever you are, you too can make that decision to exceed what was passed down to you and raise up some truly awesome children.
1 comment:
Julia June 2014 12:32
I think you’re truly doing an amazing job and have 3 beautiful, smart and wonderful kids to show for it. I know that even if all else fails you put your kids first and would do anything for them because they are, like it should be, always number one.
Love this post! 🙂
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