Father's Day

My father would be over a hundred years old were he living today. He was father to ten children evenly split between girls and boys. I wonder what he would think about our family if he was still alive.From one marriage descended many many people who populate every province in our country.You can do the math if you care and see what five generations amounts to. My father had a profound influence on my life and I am grateful for all of that.

Dad became a father as a young man never really thinking about the chain of events he put in motion. The responsibility of becoming a parent was little thought of as it was the natural outcome of most marriages. In my mind the difference between being a parent and a father is like day and night. Every man who fathers a child becomes a parent but being a father carries with it grave consequences. Fathers have the ability to shape young lives by their mentoring and love freely given to their offspring.

One of the greatest compliment a man can receive is the recognition by peers that he is a good father. We use the statement often without realizing just what it says about the person. We are saying that this person brings up his children as a shared experience with the mother that nurtures their children. This assures a healthy start in life. The single best way of doing this is in his relationship with his wife.

Children emulate the behaviour of their parents and attitudes and future behaviour will be mainly determined by yours. You cannot use the word father without the word mother so the tandem act as a team. Often good mothers make good fathers at there is no greater influence on fathers than that of the wife. In my case I would have been lost without that influence. In our attempt to be a good partner with our wife we naturally become a better father.

On father's day it is good to reflect on our position in the family as even when the family is older and out there on their own we have not abandoned the title of father. I feel that there is more time now to be a father and a grandfather. In nearly all cases men make better grandfathers than fathers. The reason is obvious... practise. In all my life the words spoken by my children that mean the most is when they say dad. It speaks bundles and carries that wonderful bond between father and child.

Today I shall be thinking about my children as they will about me and I shall be happy and contented.