Saying I love you again

I didn't see you today, so that is the main reason I did not tell you how much I love you and am proud to be your father...

The other reason I didn't say it...is because I am afraid you might not love me back...

Or worse you do love me... and we both say nothing

Accepting responsibility for your actions

You had been out of town for almost four months, after being forced to graduate early from high school and move on with your life.

Your actions had finally caught up to you and you needed to get away to get a different perspective.

It was nice to see you finally accept, that you had no one else to blame for your troubles...

even if I tried to take some of the blame...

Smelling like beer

You called me to give you a ride to your mom's house to pick up your car. I had already made plans to work at home and watch the World Cup soccer where the Americans were playing Ghana and needed a win to move on to the second round.

You said you couldn't ride your bike, but did not elaborate.

I said I was probably not going to give you a ride...but would call back in a half hour.

Was this a chance to me to teach you a lesson?

If I let you fend for yourself, what lesson would you learn???

Would it be that you could not count on me in a pinch? Or the lesson to be self-reliant...

In the end, I decided to skip my plans and give you a ride.

I was able to talk to you about once you are old enough to have your own apartment, there is a distinct possibilty that you could party every night for the rest of your lease...but there is a price to pay...

and when I said "people who drink alot, start to smell like beer..."

you commented " I don't smell like beer do I?

and I deftly replied " No I am talking about the other people who drink too much...not you....

Being excited and a little nervous...

That is what my daughter said "how she felt...." when she was re-enrolling in her summer pro-college program and getting ready to move into the dormitory with a new roommate (not the one she thought she had selected...).

That is normal...but she had more confidence then last year, more spunk, more mature and I could be more prouder of her as she is moving quickly to the next stage of her life....

Father’s Day Poem

Father’s Day Poem

My children are old enough
to know it is Father Day
but the younger two
are not old enough
to work or buy gifts

so my girlfriend got the gift
an electronic Sudoku game
and my daughter and son
gave it to me
(no it was not wrapped,
except with their delight on their faces
giving me something
they knew I would like)

My nineteen year old
who just got his first summer
college area sub-leased apartment
but not enough money for food
or toilet paper
decided to text me this message
“Happy Fathers Day Pops!”
at 9:33 a.m. the day before
just in case he forgot
to wake up
before noon the next day

My other son
The eighteen old
Who headed off to college a little early
Sent me an ecard

“Happy Fathers Day”

It’s too bad,
I can’t be home this weekend,
but Happy Fathers Day!”

and it reminded me
that just being remembered
is the greatest gift
one can ask for
from teenagers
on Fathers Day

Doing the best you can does make a difference

It is that simple. Do the best you can. That is all I have ever asked from you. Anything else is extra. You will benefit from remembering this...

Did I tell you I love you today....

Well if I forgot, please know that I do love you very much and I am also very proud of who you are and how you carry yourself around.

You make me realize how important you are to me...

Why graduating from high school is important

Because being a teenager is the most dangerous time in your life.

Because there is the time in your life when you realize, you can do anything you want to do and no one can really stop you.

You can drink alcohol, do drugs, have sex, steal, fight and anything else that comes up...

Graduating high school means that you have kept those urges under control (to a point...) and organized yourself enough to do what was necessary to move on...

Now going to college is going to be a different thing...

...you have to do all the same things, without all my nagging....

Making the right decisions for you does not always work...

When you called me last night to explain your decision about taking an advanced math class. I could not have been more proud of you. Even if your decision had not been what I had wanted, it took me awhile, but I realized it had to be your decision, in order for it to work.

So you choose the right class, even though your teachers tried to "frame" their decisions in the proper manner, you felt they were putting you down and after thinking about it, it would be better to prove them wrong, instead of just letting them have their way...

and have it be something that would bother you down the road

This is the importance of having an older brother or cousin

Someone needs to set the way. Someone needs to be there to show what the possibilities are. Someone needs to try new things and set new paths for others to follow.

Your cousin made the State High School Wrestling Tournament three times, once as a freshmen and in the finals as a sophomore and winning the championship as a Junior.

Before high school, I was hoping he would make the varsity team by his Junior year. When you made the Varsity your freshman year, and won and placed in a couple of tournaments, I realized that making Varsity was just the beginning. When you won Regionals and qualified for Sectionals your Sophomore year, making it to State became a possibility. Even though you were in the Sectional Finals a couple of years, I learned that it was not always the better wrestler who won, but often a contrast in styles. Sometimes it was which team had a tougher schedule of opponnents, that prepare them. Sometimes it was choosing the right weight to be at.

Either way, my nephew never made it to State in wrestling.

My nephew ran track and cross country in high school and won some meets, placed in others and was in the hunt to win by his senior year. His freshman cousin ran cross country too and it helped his wrestling by understanding the importance of being in the best shape possible and out working everyone.

My nephews young brother and sister tried cross country for a couple of years. By his senior year in high school, his younger brother was Captain of the team and one of the top runners. In his signature race in Track and Field, he won regionals and ended up placing third in Fourth in Sectionals just missing the State Meet.

His Senior year he was in the same situation, winning regionals and in the hunt at sectionals for a State Berth. He placed second and made it his last try...

This would have not seemed possible...but his older brother paid the dues and those around him reaped the benefits.

His youngest cousin stood in the sidelines at the State Meet, not realizing that he would be there in a couple of years..