Fathers

Fathers. We come in all shapes and sizes. And dispositions. It’s one of those situations in life that can be frustrating, exhilarating and downright scary. Sometimes all at the same time. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Some of us take to fatherhood like the proverbial duck to water, others a bit tenuous and others just plain failures. I wonder what sort of father Charles Manson had. How about Adolf Hitler? Did they do their best and then their sons just turned evil? Is raising children really a crap shoot? Do fathers roll some sort of cosmic dice when it comes to their children, or does it involve hard work and a whole lot of luck?
My Dad told my brother and me the same thing: you’ll make plenty of mistakes raising children, just don’t make the same ones as me. Sage advice. Tried to remember those words on more than one occasion. Succeeded more often than not. I think. We are, as Plato said, what our mothers made us, but boy, fathers can sure play a big role.
I sometimes wonder what sort of fathers the more famous around us are. LeBron James springs to mind. Has he instilled the “let them eat cake” philosophy he embraces in his children? How about Mel Gibson, Matt Damon, Cary Grant? And just what sort of father will the aptly named Representative Weiner make? I wonder.
One thing about being a father, it’s a never ending job. No matter what your children might do, or how old they become, you’ll always be their father. The day to day responsibilities lessen, hopefully, as they grow older and face their own world, but you’re a father even if only in name or to spring for dinner. Of course, some of us fathers were seemingly put on earth as a constant source of embarrassment to our children. Ain’t it grand?
The mantel of fatherhood placed on young shoulders can indeed be a heavy one. I accepted it with pride and elation. Those feelings have not faded. Through thick and thin, sleepless nights, graduations and the many firsts: love, job, heart break, car, traffic ticket and leaving the nest. I tried to stand unwavering through it all, a loving and caring father. I only hope my son avoids the mistakes I made with his own children.