Father's Day - Dad's Teach Lessons

Man up, it's Father's Day

Today my family will celebrate Father's Day and treat me a little special. And I say thanks. It's also a day for me to think about what it means to be a father. I only had my dad for the first four years of my life. He died young so I really never got to know him. This year I got a special gift when I traveled to Ireland and walked in the rundown house my dad lived in as a youth in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. I felt I finally reconnected with him. It was a very special experience.

Losing my father at the age of four left an impression in my life that created a fear of fatherhood in me. So when a little over ten years ago when my daughter was born my life changed in ways I could never expect. It was the greatest thing that ever happened. I made a commitment to myself to be the best dad I could be and I believe I've walked my talk in this area. Being a excellent parent and dad has been one of the greatest success's in my life.

So on this Father's Day I feel grateful to be blessed with a great wife and a fantastic daughter and look forward to all the continuing magic moments in our life. I feel grateful that I have been lucky enough and made the right decisions to be there for all the significant moments in my daughters life.

This Father's Day we lost a great journalist Tim Russert who wrote a great book about his dad. One thing that stands out from an interview with Tim Russert is him saying "Dad's teach lessons". He told a story about his dad saying "put your worries in this little book and we'll come back and look at in two weeks and when they did the worries weren't significant anymore".

So I approach parenthood and being a dad by looking forward and thinking about what lessons am I teaching my daughter to help her grow into the woman she will become, what lessons am i teaching her on becoming a parent, what lessons am i teaching her by my actions not just my words? Hopefully I will role model what a man, a dad, a partner, a husband, a parent should be.

I would like to share with my daughter on this Father's Day my feelings and beliefs; love learning, be honest, be strong, be responsible, take risks, shoot for the stars, strive for greatness, laugh often, be compassionate, be grateful, be a leader, make a difference, don't be a complainer or whiner, be a contributor, give a 100%, be a giver not a taker, never quit, be happy, stand on my shoulders and make it to the next level and let her know that I always will love her...........


Read Tim Russert's Book.....