What a joyful day yesterday was, spending time with my children and recalling memorable times with my own dad who left us five years ago.
I am lucky to have had a tremendous father and I have been blessed by great sons and daughters-in-law. But it is the morning after Father’s Day and I feel compelled to remember other fathers who have passed through our lives at various times: my own, my friends, and people I have never even met.
First, to kids that never experienced a father in their life, REJOICE!
Here is to grandfathers, uncles, teachers, family friends and other mentors who took notice and provided warm hugs, listening ears, encouraging words, smiles, and guidance along the way…and probably are still doing so today.
Let’s recognize single moms, mom-dads, who must play both roles, mother and father, and do that job with amazing success, love and support.
What great moms and dads you are!
Let’s remember those kids that have lost their dad’s way too early: to war, to accidents, to illness, to mistakes and missteps…let us have a golden chance to be your dad, if only for brief periods of time.
And to dad’s who don’t have their own children, but whom ever day or their lives find opportunities to demonstrate good fathering in time, experience, in words and in deeds. You are true dad’s in every sense of the word.
And finally, to young men and boys who are still reaching out to find a father, a dad, and come up empty-handed. Have faith, be positive, your chance of being a great dad is coming just ahead, and when you share the spirit of fatherhood with your own children, or others simply needing a father figure – you will indeed be a great father – even if you must wait until the morning after Father’s Day.
The opportunities to express fatherhood are all around us. Get in the game…you may change someone’s life forever.
Dick Stafford
