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Every dad views the
world differently as soon as his child arrives.
Suddenly, it's a place of boundess possibilities,
and also incredible dangers. A good father
blends his desire to prepare his children for
the realities of life with efforts to make his
sons and daughters people who sparkle and light
the way for others.
You may be a new dad
trying to find your way through the minefield,
a more seasoned father, or a grandfather. You
may also be none of those things -- just a
grown child looking back at YOUR father and
how you were raised at this time of year when
we traditionally salute dads. In
any case, here are some thought-provoking
quotes and ideas for special "gifts" fathers
can give their children, and which children
can be grateful for receiving from their fathers
as they were growing up.
A
Dozen Great Gifts FROM Dad
Gift
#1 -- Love.
Love
is not a hug, or a warm feeling. It's a commitment
to put the person you love ahead of things that
don't matter as much -- giving them priority
in your life. Children are incredibly
sensitive to the place they hold in their father's
hierarchy of priorities.
"No
one dies wishing he'd spent more time at the
office." -- Unknown Source.
Gift
#2 -- Respect.
Our civilization
has become one of disrespect for others. Yet
being respectful is one of the fastest ways
for a child to receive respect from others.
A parent who helps a child to develop the ability
to see the good qualities in others and take
them seriously has given a lifelong gift.
"Oh,
to be only half as wonderful as my child thought
I was when he was small, and only half as stupid
as my teenager now thinks I am." -- Rebecca
Richards
Gift
#3 -- Honesty.
Somebody
once said telling the truth was easier than
lying because that way you don't have to remember
who you told what to. Honesty is more
than telling the truth, of course, but setting
an example of honesty -- in little things and
big -- shows a child that it is not only possible
to be honest, but something to be admired.
"Always
do right -- this will gratify some and astonish
the rest." -- Mark Twain
Gift
#4 -- A sense of humor.
Let's
face it: life is funny! The people who seem
most unhappy are those who not only can't laugh
at life, they have never seen the humor in their
own thrashings around within it. A healthy
sense of humor can smooth the way through many
sticky situations, and marks a person as both
intelligent and pleasant. What a gift!
"A
doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect
can only advise his clients to plant vines."
-- Frank Lloyd Wright (who obviously didn't
always take his profession with the utmost seriousness.)
Gift
#5 -- Integrity.
Your good
name and how you carry it is like a sign post
to your children in how to live and be.
It takes a lifetime of choosing integrity over
the easy way out to build a reputation, but
only one bad choice to cast doubt on all the
substance of the man behind it. Teaching
your children how to value their own name and
reputation will invest them with self-respect.
"Character
is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree
is the real thing." -- Abraham Lincoln.
"Many
a man's reputation would not know his character
if they met on the street." -- Elbert Hubbard.
Gift
#6 -- Wisdom.
Who's
the wisest person you know? How wise did you
think your father was when you were growing
up? Often the people closest to us, who have
a lifetime of experience to impart, are the
last people we'll believe when they say wise
things. But that's no reason to stop trying
to impart wisdom. Your child may not listen,
may not appear to hear, but somewhere down the
road it will come back to him, or it will pull
her out of a jam, and your efforts will pay
off.
"Write
down the advice of him who loves you, though
you like it not at present." -- English Proverb. |
