Every father wants his son to achieve his goals and dreams! Dads want to create tasks to challenge their sons to understand work, but not make it so hard to get. To me it was important to show my son how hard I worked. Today, African American men don’t have room for error. It was paramount that I worked hard at being a good dad. My goal was to be at each of my son’s games, celebrate every basket he scored, and every run across the goal line. I wanted to enjoy every beat of his drum to encourage him and support the path he would take. It needed to be to him the dad I never had.
As a dad, I asked myself the hard question, “What can I do to make my son’s life easier?” I wanted to teach him the lessons of hard work, persistence, focus, dedication, and practice to skill, all the while being a gentle and understanding. I had missed many opportunities to teach these lessons when he was still home. I realize it’s never too late to impart wisdom and experience. My son is married with children. Now I get to assume a new role in my son’s life as Grand-pop! My heart rejoices when he calls with a question on marriage, being a dad, or pursuing a career path. I get to complete my task of being a dad. This blog allows me to voice the things I may have missed communicating the first time.
in Family, Letters to my son, 11/19/2019