Sunday, June 20, 2010

It’s good to be a Father.


One of the great issues of our generation is the value of men as fathers.  A lot  of people view men down as superfluous sperm donors. Women, so they are told, do not need men to raise their children.

On the other side of the coin, many men act more like boys. They do what they want to do, not what they have to do. Many men do not take responsibility for their children. They are too self-absorbed to love anyone but themselves. They are just boys in men’s bodies.

But, here’s to you fathers who understand that love is the proper balance of affection and discipline; keep loving, one day they will understand. I believe there is a special group of us who deserve special recognition, the blended fathers. Blended fathers are men who marry a spouse with children, sometimes referred to as an instant-family. I don’t like the term step-father because of the negative connotations. Men who can navigate the emotional minefield of not being the biological father and still love their children are truly heroes in my estimation.

Two thing I learned from my (blended) father: Do what is right even when it hurts because your reputation is worth more than money and never make fun of anyone less fortunate than you (he had a younger brother who died of polio) because how would you feel if you were in their place?

So men, be the father your children need, they will love you just because you tried.

That’s what I say. What about you?