Dad-Men-Happy Father's Day Happy Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

If you are not a father this Father’s Day, you might be later or you will have young children who are watching you.

Kids love to watch adults.

Just some points for your review which I have learned or am learning about doing the hard things:

Start with a win

When you wake, make your bed first thing. Start with a win.
Start the coffee in the morning. It means you’re on deck first.
If you write to someone, write truth. If you speak to someone, speak truth.
In dangerous times, it helps to have stoic and inappropriate humor.
Change children’s diapers if needed, especially the blow outs. Sure, it’s gross. That’s why you’re to do it.
Never drive a fancy You can own nice cars or electric cars or new cars and it can be a little expensive, but you don’t need a car you can’t shift out of second gear, even on the freeway. Stand proud next to your 2-year old Kia.
Cook for your family. Be able to cook meals in all three food time slots.
If there are not enough seats at meal time, make sure you are not in one of them.
Be the first into a metaphoric house fire and the last one out.
Your enemies who have or might hurt you-pray for them.

Pray

Pray harder for those who have or may hurt your family.
If at a restaurant, you see a first responder or a military person in uniform eating, buy their meal, but don’t let them know it was you.
If you get the honor, hold the hand of the dying.
Clean your toilets and the floors around them. Take a level of pride you could, if you had to, eat off the rim.
If those who are sick in your bathroom don’t make it to the toilet—YOU clean it up. Take heart the guy with the fancy car would not do this.
Make sure while camping to remember #2 above. Coffee while camping is a must. There is something good about camp coffee.
Own a hammer, screwdriver (Phillips and Standard), and at least one set of plyers.
If, while camping, you hear something in the middle of the night which isn’t a human, peeing on your tent or sniffing like a vacuum on the tent wall, and whoever you are with starts to panic, simply tell them it’s a bear and then say loud and firmly ‘go away bear—go away.’ They will go away. They don’t want any more to do with you than you do with them.
Love your woman sacrificially. She doesn’t have to love you—but respect This is why you will die years before her. The act of Love is expensive. She will know she has been loved.
Talk about God to others as well as yourself. He is right next to you and is extremely proud of you. He loves it when you talk to Him.

Trust

Trust The Plan.
Learn to not speak. Learn to listen. It is often better to be a good listener than to move your pie hole about most things. You get better at it with age.
Ask permission to give counsel first. It gives value to the one who wants your opinion.
Be kind and respectful to all. If they have an initial like LBGTQ, treat them with respect. They are watching you. They anticipate negative things. Give them positive things.
Love animals.
Always take the aisle seat on a plane. You might have to do ‘something.’
Ignore the term ‘optics,’ a politically born term, when it’s used. How something looks, most of the time, is not how it really is. But give people grace to learn from their mistaken focus.
Learn and have operational knowledge of how to saddle and ride a horse.
Have manners. Yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, no sir is sometimes all the world needs along with thank you and Those words need to be taught to your kids. They will get them far.
Show kids how to drink out of a garden hose. No, you will not absorb toxins and if you did, they are good for you. The taste of polymerized rubber from Wuhan, China is good for you.
When asked ‘how do I look in this?’ think before you speak. Then speak well.
Show your children you can dance. Dance flamboyantly. Do The Gator while waiting in line at the restaurant and Shout by the Isley Brothers comes on. They will be embarrassed, but will remember it and laugh when they are older at a time when they need to laugh.

Be useful

Be randomly useful wherever you are.
God did not say ‘don’t drink.’ He said ‘don’t drink to excess.’ Jesus’ first miracle was to make more wine. Jesus likes the grape. You can too—just not to excess.
When the end of the ride is near, and if you get a chance, stand as if you are on the pier at the Dunkirk evacuation site. Look towards the horizon and simply say with a smile—“it does not look too far of a swim home.”
It is okay to head bob to songs like Boston’s Foreplay at traffic intersections while you drive and letting others see you do it- after the two and a half minute intro of course. Knowing when to head bob is critical.
Dark socks with sneakers is being mainstreamed by the Thirties Generation. It is not a good look. Don’t do it. But always wear socks.
In addition, always wear shoes of some kind when you’re out shopping. You don’t want to have to run in flip flops.

Dare to believe….

Go to church and believe in God. I would suggest being a Christian. It allows for all the stuff you did and will do to be forgiven and to learn about pure love and doing the hard thing, but in this country, you don’t have to be a Christian. You can believe in lava rocks if you want. Talk to your kids about it. It is an anchor for them later in life when that house fire is their own.
Go to your kids/grandkids school things as much as you can. If you don’t have kids, your friends do. Remember, kids watch you.
Learn to fail well. You will fail a lot. You will fail all these items daily. But that God you believe in will keep picking you up and dusting you off if you let Him. Let Him. Each time you will get better. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
If you haven’t, start to actually believe in a God who loves—you! All He wants is to walk with you. The other crap you have will solve itself over time. If He can forgive you for the thing you did for years with the duct tape, an old apple pie, and three women all named ‘Mary,’ you—as a man and father, can forgive your children. Again, remember, they are watching.

Dad-Men-Happy Father’s Day