There comes a day for fathers.
\nEarned or not earned,
\nto know what you are,
\nor can become,
\nwhen a child looks at you
\nand calls you Daddy or Dad or Father.
\n A page is opened
\nupon which a legacy will be written,
\nand your heart will say,
\nthe way I live will be remembered,
\nand the way I die
\nwill be mourned or forgotten.
\nIt will matter to a son or daughter
\nhow that happens.<\/p>\n
If I do not speak
\nmy children will not hear me.
\nIf I do not love
\nmy name will be meaningless.
\nIf I do not grow,
\nI can not teach,
\nand my children will follow someone else.
\nIf I am not gentle,
\nthere will be no hand
\nto ease the injuries of living.
\nIf I am not patient,
\nthe door to my longing will remain unopened.
\nIf I do not share my time,
\nmy generosity will be meaningless.<\/p>\n
As a father I must grow up again
\nwith each of my children,
\nand find the place where they stand,
\nwhere they live.
\nI must accept their pain as my own,
\ntheir achievements as theirs,
\nto be praised.
\nBeing a father is to show them
\nmy failures as well as successes,
\nand understand that virtue
\nis earned each day of your life.<\/p>\n
Patience must be the power
\nof a wise humility,
\nand listening
\nmust be part of your children\u2019s conversation.
\nAnd truth of a father
\nis to learn after being a boy,
\nthe youthful randomness of sex,
\nthat vices that accumulate by design
\nor accident,
\nmust be handled with charity and discarded.
\nThat once a father you will be, ready or not,
\na father who remembers his own
\nwith joy or regret, a gift,
\nfor a work in progress in yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There comes a day for fathers. Earned or not earned, to know what you are, or can become, when a child looks at you and…<\/p>\n