I am scheduling this post to appear early Sunday morning since I expect to be fully engaged in a fun filled, mad frenzy of purging, cleaning and packing most of the day for my second official Father's Day.
1. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt
There is no one alive, man or woman, whose opinion of you matters more than your opinion of yourself. Failure is a part of life as much as success is, but failure does not define you anymore than your success does. Michael Jordan was one of the greatest basketball players of my generation, but that didn't make him the best at everything. You have so much potential. I see it everyday. My job as your father (and The Queen's as your mother) is to help you reach that potential by discovering your gifts and helping you develop them.
2. You don't just marry your future spouse, you marry the whole family. Choose wisely. - Daddy Hawk
A lot of people are so focused on their attraction to their boyfriend or girlfriend that they ignore the lazy, good for nothing, mooch of a future brother in law, the crazy uncle or the step mother who is an identity thief. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can change them or their whole family. Do not think you will be able to cut them away from the herd entirely either. If someone in the extended family represents a problem, make sure you talk about it with your significant other and define some boundaries...and then be prepared to defend those boundaries. Choose wisely.
3. "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." - Ronald Reagan
A lot of people fought and died to secure and protect the freedoms we have enjoyed in this country. However, within my own lifetime, I have watched as some of that freedom has slowly faded. With freedom comes responsibility and risk. We have a duty to exercise our freedoms in a responsible way and be cognizant of the risks inherent in those freedoms. Beware of those promising security or change. Those promises come at the price of less freedom.
4. "You can't be right and have peace." - Dr. Keith Elko
You may win the argument, but you may lose a friend or family member in the process.
5. "A person convinced their will is of the same opinion still." - Dave Ramsey
This is something do gooders and crusaders have had a hard time grasping over the course of human history. The Spanish Inquisition "converted" a lot of Jews to Christianity until you consider that the only other options were torture and death. A false conversion is not a lasting conversion.
DH - there's some very powerful and intelligent words written here for your daughter on your 2nd Father's Day. Happy Belated Father's Day! you have quoted many intelligent people's quotes here and they apply to everyone. my favourite quote is by you - because yes, you marry into an entire other family.
ReplyDeletei look forward to the day when M&M can read these words by herself. she will have years of being able to read them as she grows up to become a young woman. and it is at that point that the words will be most important. and she will have read them for years by that time. and with God's grace, they will become her mantra.
again, Happy Father's Day to you. i know how important it must feel. much love to you and all of yours! your friend,
kymber
kymber, thanks for the compliment and the belated father's day wishes. I think everyone can relate to the marriage/family issue, and I really do hope M&M will listen to her dear old dad when the time comes for her to make her own decisions. The Queen and I are doing our best to raise her right, but we won't be able to live her life for her.
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