A Father's Job

I've been thinking about just what it is that a dad does that's so important. Dad's teach their kids about guy stuff like how to throw a baseball, how to shoot a basketball, how to ride a bike. Our dad taught us how to collect large rocks and build a dam across the creek back of the cabin on Oregon where we spent a week each summer. He sure as heck taught me how to mow a lawn. But, of all the things my Dad did, I think the most important was to show his child how others should be regarded. And that's what I think is really a father's most important job.

By his actions a father can show that a woman is a person-- not a thing, not a servant, not less than, not a toy. By his actions a father can raise a son to know what it means to care for another person, what it means to show respect, to honor, to concern yourself with another. By his actions and expectations a father shows his child she is worthy and capable of attaining any goal-- and expected to reach far. By his actions a father shows his daughter  there is no place for using or accepting humiliation, disrespect, threats, or violence. By his actions a father shows his son there is no place for using or accepting humiliation, disrespect, threats, or violence. By his actions a father shows his child the value of industry, intellect, and motivation. By his actions a father shows his child the meaning of citizenship as a person living in a world filled with other people, of other races, preferences, and genders.

In the end, if he's done his job well, a father will live to see a child who learned from his actions, a child who is loving, caring, capable, and tolerant. And in that, he will have defined what it is to succeed in life.

I may have been a slow learner, but my father was a success.