Greatest gift? Being a father
By Bill Fox/Columnist
The greatest gift I ever had came from God: I call him Dad. I am fortunate to still have my dad at 93.
He has shown his love in so many ways: in his strong values, his wisdom and, above all, his devotion to family and home. Many a winter night, he was called out to work with the snow clearing in Scarborough. He never refused the chance to make extra money for our family to help make ends meet. Sometimes in the winter, he would work more than 20 hours straight, all for the devotion he had to his family.
I don’t remember my dad ever preaching to us, trying to reform or fix us. He simply guided us. He has always been a great role model, even today with his encouragement, his sense of humour and his love of baking shortbread for family and friends.
A man’s greatest and most satisfying job, if you can call it that, is being a dad. I feel sorry for men so tied to their jobs, or even hobbies, that they don’t give proper attention to their sons or daughters.
I myself am blessed with four wonderful sons. My eldest son is himself a dad to two beautiful young daughters, the youngest only three months. As a dad, I see him be stern when required, nurturing always and guiding his older daughter to activities where she will grow as a person. I love watching him spending quality time with his daughter, reading bedtime stories together, singing songs together and dancing together. She has already developed a quirky sense of humour from her dad, which perhaps is inherited way back from my father, her great granddad.
It seems just a fact of life in today’s world that many men put off being a father until they feel they can financially afford to properly provide for their offspring. Perhaps this is misguided if they think every child needs everything material that this world has to offer.
Here are just a few of the great things about being a dad:
– All we had to do was place the order and be there for the delivery! It’s the mom who labours, who does the nurturing – first in the womb and then for the newborn. So initially being a dad means supporting the mom by holding, burping and rocking the baby, changing the diapers, and getting up in the middle of the night so mom can get caught up on some much-needed sleep. We dads, in comparison, seem to have it pretty easy initially, and I presume this is why Mothers’ Day is much more significant than Fathers’ Day.
– Nothing can compare to being there for the miracle of childbirth and seeing that little baby, your own son or daughter, draw it’s first breath and cry. Words cannot describe the sense of complete awe at the newborn baby and the mom’s bravery.
-I wish, in hindsight, I would have kept a journal on each of my four sons and their cute sayings and accomplishments as they grew into teens, young men and now adults in their 30s. There are thousands of great memories that still bring a smile to my face.
-People are often prone to saying how much your child looks like the father or the mother, but as I see my four sons, each has similarities, but each is unique in their personalities and interests. Each of them has that great sense of humour, and when the four of them get together (the eldest lives in B.C.), I just sit back, listen, laugh and enjoy their company.
– I know, I always boast about how proud I am of each of my four boys, or should I now say men! None of them followed in the careers I thought they should, thank God!
When the youngest become fathers, they have a fantastic role model in their oldest brother, hopefully in their dad, and even in their granddad. This is my blessing celebrated on Father’s Day.