FATHERHOOD

I have often contemplated what it means to be a father. When I lost my dad this past June I thought what he had meant to me. As I write this I look at his picture and remember the power he had in my life. That caused me to reevaluate my role in my kids' life. I would only hope to have the influence on them that my dad had on me.

Being a father is a great moment in a man's life. To guide someone else's life is tough but it's what you assume when you become a parent. You can only try to do what is best and hope that it works out. When my daughter was diagnosed with MS I was devastated. I didn't know how to react. She had been a near world class athlete in soccer. She made the regional team in the Olympic Development Team and narrowly missed making the national team pool. Now she faced this debilitating disease and I couldn't do anything about it.

Throughout this trauma she has taught me about courage. She has lectured my family endlessly, not with her words, but with her actions. She is determined. She will have a life that is dictated not by her disease, but by her will. She is my hero.

This video is what I wanted to say. There is a mother in it for a short time, but for most of the video it is the male that is teaching his child to be strong and on its own. He protects her from danger and makes sure she can have the life she wants to have.

Most of the time we learn from others. I have.