By Jim Sollisch – Fri Jun 17, 10:30 am ET
Dr Martin Luther King sacrificed More than any father today except our heavenly father R.I.P Dr King & Happy Father's Day.
To everyone else enjoy your children fathers day & everyday Live, Love & Laugh tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
A Fathers Story Of Wisdom
In the past year, almost 4 million babies were born in America. Which means a lot of new fathers were born. Making this their first Father’s Day. So I wanted to share some lessons from 25 years on the job.
To everyone else enjoy your children fathers day & everyday Live, Love & Laugh tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
A Fathers Story Of Wisdom
In the past year, almost 4 million babies were born in America. Which means a lot of new fathers were born. Making this their first Father’s Day. So I wanted to share some lessons from 25 years on the job.
I know guys like rules. So I tried writing “The Top 10 rules for new Fathers.” (We men love Top 10 lists, too, so that would have been a coup). I didn’t get very far. I also looked at compiling a list of axioms from sports and business that might be instructive. But that also turned out to be a fool’s errand.
The challenge with being a father is that you can’t trust your instincts. The lessons that made you a good athlete or a success at work don’t apply: Set goals. Create a strategy or action plan. Work hard. It’s all wrong. Fatherhood is the least goal-oriented enterprise you’ve ever embarked on. It’s not about outcomes; it’s about process.
Fatherhood is the art of being there. And if you love to check things off your list, as I do, you’re going to have some problems. You’re about to run smack up against the inertia that is children. I remember going out and buying a bunch of great books to read to my kids. (I was an English major.) I wanted to check the classics off the list so we could move on. I started with “Good Night Moon” and got stuck there for about six months. Why would a kid want to have the same book read over and over? Has he no ambition?
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Ditto for music and movies. (Once when my daughter Zoey was two and running a high fever, I held her in my arms while she dozed in and out of sleep, and we watched "Beauty and the Beast" six times in a row. Every time that last scene came up, she said, “Again.â€
A walk to the coffee shop down the street is not a walk to the coffee shop. You may never get there. The walk may become “The Discovery of Grass.” Or “The Adventures of a Large Truck Parked Across the Street.” Or in the case of my son Zack, circa 18 months, the joy of collecting cigarette butts.
In fatherhood, nothing is at it seems. A walk is not a walk, a book isn’t something to finish, and a trip to the grocery store isn’t about hunting and gathering. But occasionally, you’ll get it right. You’ll throw away the agendas, tear up the to-do lists, turn off your phone, and the magic will happen like it did for me one Saturday 20 years ago.
My boys, Zack and Max, were five and three. Their baby sister was with her mom. And we headed out on an adventure to “The Magical Kingdom," a ravine with a creek in our inner-ring suburban neighborhood that ran hidden (sort of) between two thoroughfares. Once you scrambled down the bank, you lost the sense that you were near the city. It was magical. And we would spend hours there, skipping stones, walking in the creek barefoot and telling stories.
Take the time to remember the great things and the fun things your father has done , if nothing else at least give him a card. Appreciation is something that makes a person feel good about the things they do. and what goes around comes around so be good to your loved ones.
KChill
