Father's Day 2009, Part 1

Father's Day 2009 is this weekend.

I was thinking I wanted to write another annual Father's Day post, but I didn't want to do it out of obligation, only out of inspiration. Funny how the muses can show up at the most opportunistic times...

Tonight was a good night. Sparky did very well in his baseball game, and his younger brother (let's call him "Ferris") actually stayed close to the field so I could keep an eye on him while I coached. This was a major accomplishment.

So I surprised the boys with a trip to the Dairy Queen drive-through for some Blizzards, just the three of us. And as we're driving home, a song very special to me came on the radio: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.

Now before you let out with the groan and grumble about overplayed 80's music, let me explain...

You see, I was struck by these lyrics when I heard them, in the months while we were waiting for Sparky to enter our lives:

"Welcome to your life
Theres no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world

Theres a room where the light wont find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do I'll be right behind you..."

When each of the boys was born, we had a stereo right there in the room, and that was the first song we played for them. "Welcome to your life, boys..."

And in that moment in the car tonight, when the song came on and I told them how special it was to me, because of them, and we three shared that moment, all smiling, it struck me again what an incredible gift it is to be a dad.

The philosopher Kahlil Gibran, in his book "The Prophet", wrote this about children:

"You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable."

How true.

We, as fathers, as parents all, support, teach, nurture, encourage, celebrate, and support some more these precious gifts, these awesome responsibilities we've been given that are our children. We do it every waking moment of their lives, and often while they sleep as well. As the wisest nurturer I know, my mother, says: "every ounce of joy you get from your children you earn."

But make sure you also respect, laugh with, cry with, PLAY with, and truly enjoy your children as well. Do THAT every waking moment. Make sure you take your kids to DQ, or the park, or the hot dog stand, or a ball game, or go fly a kite with them every time they deserve it, and sometimes for no reason at all. Because I'll tell you: it's the "no reason at all" times that they'll remember.

I have more to say about fatherhood this Father's Day, but I'll save that for a separate post. Before you go to bed tonight, dads, make sure you go into your children's room, look at them sleeping for a minute, then tuck them in, rub their heads, and go off to sleep yourself, knowing you're the custodian of an awesome responsibility, but also the most precious gift you'll ever receive.

Good night.