I hope that all parents will read the Father's Day essay by President Obama in today's Parade magazine. I hope our schools and parent centers will make copies of this article and distribute them to every parent they come in contact with. His words need to be heard and need to be believed. Fathers are critical to childrens success - boys and girls.
An excerpt:
It is rarely easy. There are plenty of days of struggle and heartache when, despite our best efforts, we fail to live up to our responsibilities. I know I have been an imperfect father. I know I have made mistakes. I have lost count of all the times, over the years, when the demands of work have taken me from the duties of fatherhood. There were many days out on the campaign trail when I felt like my family was a million miles away, and I knew I was missing moments of my daughters’ lives that I’d never get back. It is a loss I will never fully accept.
But on this Father’s Day, I think back to the day I drove Michelle and a newborn Malia home from the hospital nearly 11 years ago—crawling along, miles under the speed limit, feeling the weight of my daughter’s future resting in my hands. I think about the pledge I made to her that day: that I would give her what I never had—that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father. I knew that day that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless she had every opportunity in hers. And I knew I had an obligation, as we all do, to help create those opportunities and leave a better world for her and all our children.
Nice father's day message. A good father is a blessing. A bad father is good to miss. All children would be better off with a set of 2 good parents but I'll take 1 good one over 1 good one and 1 bad one. Sometimes, a single parent home is the best one for the kids involved. President Obama's case may have been one of these. Above all else, be a good parent, father or mother, together or alone.
ReplyDeleteRight --- to which Obama says at the end of the article, "On this Father’s Day, I am recommitting myself to that work, to those duties that all parents share: to build a foundation for our children’s dreams, to give them the love and support they need to fulfill them, and to stick with them the whole way through, no matter what doubts we may feel or difficulties we may face. That is my prayer for all of us on this Father’s Day, and that is my hope for this nation in the months and years ahead. "
ReplyDeleteMr. President, I am impressed. I think you are a great dad!
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