Our June Father’s Month has been a time for me to reflect about my childhood, my teen years, and even my time in college. The dad I had was wonderful. The time he spent with me gave me a great childhood. We were not wealthy by any material standard, but we were comfortable. Our house was small but the memories there as a little boy bring a smile to me each time I think of one of them. The house may have been small, but the love was huge. I also reflect about my own children when they were small. Often, I ask myself if I would do things differently given the chance. Sadly, we do not get do-overs as a parent, but I loved and still love being a dad. I really liked being with my kids when they were little. I enjoyed doing things with them back in the day. Looking at old pictures instantly brings back days long gone that were really good times, at least for me. As I sit at my computer this morning I am thinking of memories from old photos. I have a picture of when we took a group of college kids to the Etowah River. Deb and I took our children with us on the trip. On the bank of the Etowah was a swing. Sara was a little girl maybe six or seven years old and someone snapped a picture of me pushing her on that old rope swing out over the water. Another picture I came across not long ago was of Alison and me on a horse. She had on a little black velvet riding helmet with a huge smile on her face as we rode. I cherish a picture of Dallas when he was about five years old. We lived in Grayson on a cul-de-sac. In the backyard under some trees, we had a hammock. The little guy had been playing hard and evidently got tired. He climbed up in the hammock and fell fast asleep. We got a picture of him curled up with his camo shorts on. I have dozens of memories like these three. As I said, I love being a dad. Now being a papa is pretty good too. I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes about fathers. Some are from people you may be familiar with. Enjoy.
- “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.” —Harmon Killebrew, Pro Baseball Player for Minnesota Twins
- “Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” —Charles R. Swindoll
- “A boy needs a father to show him how to be in the world. He needs to be given swagger, taught how to read a map so that he can recognize the roads that lead to life and the paths that lead to death, how to know what love requires, and where to find steel in the heart when life makes demands on us that are greater than we think we can endure.” —Pastor Ian Morgan Cron
- “Whoever does not have a good father should procure one.” —Friedrich Nietzsche
- “A real man loves his wife and places his family as the most important thing in life. Nothing has brought me more peace and content in life than simply being a good husband and father.” —Frank Abagnale
- “Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” —Robert Fulghum
- “Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.” —Erma Bombeck