On Fatherhood...

First of all, Happy Birthday to my younger boys, Elijah and Malakai! Today, they are 4 years old. Time certainly flies when you're having fun. It feels like just yesterday that they were born. Jen had a C-Section with them, so I spent the first hour of their lives with them. Singing and talking to them, just the three of us. In terms of memories, that experience is definitely in my top five.

So for most of the month, my two older sons, Taye and Quddus have been in California, visiting their grandparents. They spent a week with Jen's parents, and then a week with my parents. Well, last night I was talking to my Dad, and he was just praising them. Praising how well they behaved, how respectful they were, and just overall how impressed he was with the parenting of Jen and I. As he said these things, I realized that he had a part in the disposition of his grandsons.

You see, I've been fortunate in that I grew up with two fathers. My biological father went home to be with the Lord when I was 11. What he instilled in me was an overall sense of self-esteem. A sense of self worth which sometimes borders on arrogance. My stepfather, my mother's second husband, has been in my life since I was 4. We haven't always gotten along. In fact, for years, I thought I hated him. But, I realize that I thought he was coming in to try to usurp the role as my Dad, from my Dad. But, someone once showed me why he was the way he was. It wasn't his goal to have me be a good kid. He wanted me to become a good MAN, which is the goal of any man who parents little boys. There were times he was hard on me, but I have since realized that those times weren't malicious. He just wanted me to have that seemingly endless well of internal strength that I still think he has. That strength where everything seems to be falling apart, but as a man, you present the positive to your family and charge forward, rather than wallowing in worry and despair.

So, to hear that Jen and I are doing an excellent job with our boys, from someone who helped (despite my own efforts to thwart him) me become the man I am today meant a lot. But Dad, you had a part in it. A major part. Thank you.