Old Retired Guy Blog
June 23, 2009
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Father's DayThere's an awful lot of hoopla every May for Mother's Day. Be sure to get flowers and a nice card! Don't forget to make those dinner reservations well ahead of time! Don't get her a toaster or a lawn mower for a present! When June rolls around all the talk is about graduations and weddings and Flag Day and, oh that's right, Fathers Day. Becoming a father was an amazing and, I must admit, a very frightening experience. In addition to the usual feelings of "how do we take care of this baby," I remember worrying about my ability to earn enough money to raise a family and put kids through college. If I couldn't support them, who would? I also had no idea how to be a father. My father was always out in the fields. We never rode bikes together, or played baseball together, or went fishing together. What is a father supposed to do? I remember when Eric was born. I couldn't tie the gown behind my back as I tried to get to the delivery room. The nurse was telling me to hurry or I would miss the birth. Kathy was incredibly brave. When the doctor said it was a boy I looked at Kathy and said, "So, this is Eric Michael." My eyes got a bit misty.
I remember when Matthew was born. We called Kathy's mom in the middle of the night to come over to take care of Eric. She made it across town in her Ford Mustang in record time. Kathy was sure she would have a girl so the only name we had ready was Kristin Marie. It was a couple days before we came up with Matthew Ryan. My eyes got a bit misty. Now I'm 60 years old and my sons are grown. I'm still not sure that I'm much of a father, but I do know this: I am very proud of both of my sons and I love them very much, and Father's Day is a good day for me to remember how wonderful that is.
End of 'Father's Day' Entry |
