Simply Put- “Being a Father”

6/12/08

Father’s Day is this Sunday. Days in which we recognize or honor different groups of folks usually gets me to thinking, or pondering as I like to call it. And when I get to pondering, a column is not too far away.
When I turned sixteen I went to get my driver’s license. There were several requirements in order for me to get my license. I had to have completed driver’s education, which I had. I had to take a written exam and pass, which I did. And then I had to take the driving portion of the test and execute the dreaded parallel parking maneuver. When is the last time you’ve pulled off a parallel parking maneuver lately. Not much use for it anymore. But back to my story. I took the driving portion of the exam and somehow passed to get my driver’s license. I went back to the driver’s license office when I turned 18 so I could get the blue background for my picture. That provided a quick glance proof that I was of legal age. I am not proud of my motives for wanting that blue background.
When I was 26 I got married. I had to go to the court house and get a marriage license. They asked me a few questions, asked for proof on a few of the questions and then issued me a marriage license. I have been certified in CPR for more than 25 years now. Each year I take a refresher course, pass a test and get a new card.
So what’s all this got to do with being a father. I had to pass a test or provide proof of meeting certain criteria to drive, get married, and do CPR.. These are just a few examples of proving I was ready to measure up to the task at hand.
But all I had to do to be a father was, well you know. Theres was no requirement that I take a class, pass a test or do anything to demonstrate that I was ready to take on the most challenging endeavor I would ever face.
On the other hand, could any class or test ever prepare me for what lay ahead? I’ve heard it said, and agree, that our kids bring us our greatest joy and our deepest pain. I certainly don’t claim to have mastered the art of being a great father and I’ve made more than my share of mistakes. But isn’t it ironic, about the time we remotely start to figure out some of this father business, our kids are about grown. So to all the fathers, Simply Put, hang in there, count your blessings and belt out a few "Because I said so" to let’em know that you’ve still got it.

From the front porch: Coach said the most important ingredient to success is failure.