Fathers Day

Yeah, yeah, I know - it's a week after Fathers Day. But for me, I didn't get to have my Fathers Day meal with my son until Friday night so technically I'm only two days behind (and since FD is supposed to be a Sunday, I'm right on time!). But I did want to say a nice thing about fathers this week and this is the time of year to do just that.

I became a father on September 9, 1999 (9/9/99 for those of you scoring at home) at 9:09 a.m. Actually it was at 6:07 a.m. but 9:09 would have been so perfect! But yeah, it was undoubtedly the best day of my life. Sure, I was tired from staying up all night and that fatigue would only really start to go away a couple of months later. But bringing life into the world was such a great feeling and something I am so glad I was able to do at least once in my lifetime.

Since that time, I have done my best to be the greatest father I can be. Admittedly, I have occasionally fallen into the trap of working too many hours and not getting to spend much time with my son. When he was two, I was working three jobs and approximately 80 hours a week so that we could afford a mortgage that somebody (I'm not naming names here) had to have. In hindsight, I would have loved to have had more of that time to be around my son. And unfortunately, having one or two fewer jobs may have lowered the number of hours but only by a few. Ultimately, spending so much time working led to less time around my family and that helped formulate the end of my family.

But through it all, I always had a loving relationship with my son and that only enhanced when I found myself living on my own. I was seeing him less than ever, yet we seemed to form a bond around that time and it has remained that way even now. So all of this is to get this point across - I haven't always done things right, but I'm a great father. I feel that I am a really good writer, a decent athlete, and a really nice guy but what I do best is my role as a dad. And I get to see that in his smiles, his laughs, his eyes, and his actions. He means the world to me and I have no doubt he feels the same about me.

That said, I'm not making any claims to be the father of the year even if I do believe I am one of the better ones. If you are a father - congratulations and be the best father you can be! If you know a father or used to be married to one or are married to one now, make sure they know how much you appreciate them. Mothers deserve the recognition they get but this is our day and our week and our month (I don't ask for much, do I?). And if you aren't being a good father, then screw you! Your kid(s) deserve better than that and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Anyway, I didn't intend to just write once this week but it has been a hectic week. Hopefully, I will be able to make up for postings this upcoming week!

J.W.O.A.G.