Father's Day

I became a father for the first time 35 years ago this coming August. The second time was three years later in October. I can honestly say that helping raise two successful sons is my proudest achievement. There were struggles along the way, of course. Money was tight at times. While my elder son was always a remarkably good student, the younger had problems...mostly due to some minor motor skill issues. (His handwriting is still atrocious.)

But as parents, we learned that every child is different. One boy was a scholar, the other an artist. One made friends easily, the other had difficulty finding his place, until college. Oddly, the one who hated public speaking is now a college professor, lecturing and teaching on a daily basis...and the one who reveled in being on stage now spends his days on a computer, aiding in on-line communication.

I had a difficult relationship with my own father. He didn't understand a boy who preferred books, a drawing board, and a stage to playing sports. He was also, I know now, a functioning alcoholic...though I understood enough even as a teenager to decide that drinking was not something I had any interest in. He died in 1976 (oddly enough, on Mother's Day) after several years battling cancer.

I hope my problems as a son did not affect my actions as a father. I don't think they did, at least not negatively...but I'll probably never know for sure.