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Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers who participate and read here. No matter the examples of our own fathers, good or bad (or mediocre), may we honor them by living honorable lives.
I would rather receive that type of honor from my children than any verbal praise they could offer.
Got some lovely notes from my kids. Am now sitting on the sofa waiting for my cake 
I tried to write this in a way that wouldn’t sound like humblebrag but I guess it is what it is… We often open our home to some neighbor children. Their mother is a single mom with some debilitating health issues that are the result of some poor choices she made in her younger days. This mom often needs a break from her kids to run errands or even because she is not feeling very well. These kids are not the easiest to have around because they are actively getting into everything and testing boundaries. I have couseled with my wife that the only way to manage this is to not run faster than we have strength. IOW if we are having a hard day and cannot have the neighbor children over without sacrificing the sanity and wellbeing of our own home then we need to say so. Boundaries are important to not feeling taken advantage of and resentful.
Today I received the following text from their mother:
Quote:Thanks for being such a wonderful male influence in my children’s lives. You are a great father. Happy Father’s Day!
Roy, those are the times that make it all worthwhile. When a young man who lived with us for a year (about six years ago) sent me a similar note saying he finally understood what I had modeled for him about what it really means to be a father, I sat and bawled like a baby. When he left our house, mad at me for not being a man by beating him when I was upset, the only hope I had was that we had saved his life and that it would last. To read what he wrote to me so long after the fact . . .
I got a tiny glimpse of how God must feel as he watches us struggle and then, seemingly miraculously, suddenly “get it”. It was a moment I will cherish forever.
My kids didn’t do anything for me for some reason, but my wife got me an Afterglow CD. It was one I already had, so I asked her if she wanted to know how I felt about the gift — that I loved the thought behind it, but that I already had one. She could return it and know that the thought was what really mattered, and not get me anything else and save the expense. My wife’ birthday was yesterday, so we went away for the weekend and her birthday kind of eclipsed father’s day this year since I made the trip about that. I get a ton of adulation from kids on other days, so I guess I’m not disturbed by it. I was cleaning the other day and found about 4 notes they had written me over the last while. Funny, they all said the same thing — I listen to their problems, I work hard, and they wish they could spend even more time with them.
Some setbacks in my work have left me in a period of disengagement about the loyalty I have given to my employer (and the extra time I put into it at the expense of my family), so I have made a commitment to spend time with them away from our house, overnight, without my computer. Twice in one month I’ve done it. And I don’t care about the money either, within reason…
That’s my Father’s Day-ish commitment.
Old-Timer wrote:No matter the examples of our own fathers, good or bad (or mediocre), may we honor them by living honorable lives.
I know so many men who do this. Without dwelling on the past they quietly make an effort to do better. I know that even my extremely imperfect father was trying to give us something better than he had. I’m so grateful.
Happy Father’s Day!
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