BEING A DAD
This year, I’ve decided to get a bit more personal…I’m jotting down a few thoughts about what being a dad means to me.
I guess my daughter could be considered a miracle child of sorts. After enduring two miscarriages, my wife Carol gave birth to Hailey in December of 1994. Carol was 39 and I was 41. Unfortunately, Carol had two more miscarriages after Hailey was born. We sometimes wonder why Hailey was spared, sandwiched between two periods of bitter sadness and disappointment. But such adversity has always made Hailey's life that much more precious to us.
One of the many considerations behind launching Last Wave in June of 2005 (at the age of 52) was the potential for a more flexible schedule. I could be home when Hailey got out of school, and I could attend the many activities in which my kid participated. From dance recitals to softball to Junior Guards, Hailey was always busy – and I was fortunate enough to be there for much of it.
Hailey is now 26 and engaged to be married. She’s just a few months away from earning her Master’s Degree in Education, and looks forward to beginning her career as an elementary school teacher. It seems like just yesterday that she was a little school kid herself, and now she’s looking forward to taking on the hugely important mission of helping to educate our youth. We are proud of her.I may have shared this short poem in a prior Father’s Day email, but I think it bears repeating.
I’ve kept it in a file for almost 20 years now…a file of sentimental stuff that I hope will help make my father-of-the-bride speech easier to prepare someday. It also sums up some of the feelings I have about the responsibility of fatherhood and the indescribable bond between a father and his child…it’s called “Footprints”:
I’ve kept it in a file for almost 20 years now…a file of sentimental stuff that I hope will help make my father-of-the-bride speech easier to prepare someday. It also sums up some of the feelings I have about the responsibility of fatherhood and the indescribable bond between a father and his child…it’s called “Footprints”:
“Walk a little slower daddy,” said a child so small.
”I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.
Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.”
”I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.
Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.”
I hope you will be enjoying this Sunday with your kids and/or grandkids! Savor the moments with them, as they are precious yet fleeting.
Until next time,
Ted
