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What It Means To Be ""Dad""

by on ‎06-18-2014 02:55 PM

Parenting. As anyone with kids knows, it’s a challenge for those who work a “normal” 9-to-5-type schedule. When it comes to my schedule there is no such thing as a typical day. My schedule is ever changing and the hours are often very odd, and then you through in the TONS of tournaments, practices, and games that my sons Nick, 15, and Josh, 13, are involved with. For example – this summer Josh is playing on FOUR baseball teams, while Nick is on THREE basketball teams, and sometimes it feels like we have no idea how we will juggle all of it.



Somehow, some way my wife and I always seem to get our sons to every practice and to every game, because that’s what parents do. I’ve had this kind of dedication to my family ingrained in me thanks to my father, Les, a Gunner’s Mate First Class in the U.S.S. Boise during World War II. I speak about my father with great pride and recall of the war stories and values that he instilled in me. I can only hope to pass these same values onto Nick and Josh.



This Father’s Day I’m grateful for the extraordinary blessing of having had a great dad, and a great mom, as well. They were married for 61 years! He was an incredible guy, and he just had a tremendous amount of integrity. He was hard working and he is certainly my hero.


With that said, I’ve dedicated myself to being a hands-on Dad, involved with coaching my sons, rooting for them from the bleachers, and just being there for them – values undoubtedly passed down from my Dad.




While Amy and I enjoy our son’s involvement in sports as it’s a fun and exciting environment to be part of, we’ve also made it clear to them that it is always their decision to keep playing or not. If the sports stopped now, and they wanted to get into anything else, we’d support them 110%.



While the boys both literally and figuratively grow up (Nick is now 6'3", Josh 5'10"), there are certainly things I miss about the days when they were small enough to sit on my lap. I miss lying in bed and reading to them, tucking them in at night, teaching them how to ride a bike, showing them how to swing a bat, how to play basketball… I definitely miss all of those things. In exchange though, I’ve found that that I’m learning even more from Josh and Nick. Now I get man-to-man talks… I even get advice from them! Amy and I are actually even getting appreciation from them now, as they recognize the fact that we spent a lot of time with them and they know that we’re there.



So while I reminisce about the fun routines and the milestones that come with having young children, I also look ahead and adjust my parenting philosophy accordingly. I think it’s our job to love them for who they are, to give them the tools to help them be young men, and then let them fly away.


One thing is for certain, I don’t take a moment of my life as a dad for granted. Being a father is one thing I cherish and value above all else. Fatherhood has been the most rewarding experience of my life, being part of coaching and guiding them. And when all’s said and done, the thing I’m most proud of is that they’re good kids!