BLOG #27 by novelist Jeremy Logan -- SENTIMENTALITY ON FATHER'S DAY
If you are not in the mood for sentimentality, this might not be the blog to read today. I woke today with a touch of sentimentality watching a piece on the CBS Sunday Morning program.
My thoughts hearken back to the years my wife and I were considering starting a family. When we learned that we could not conceive, we chose to try to adopt. The trying, the failing, and the adopting took some time. I was thirty-six when it finally happened. And when Alison came into my life. many of my friend's children were reaching ten years old.
Anticipating I was going to be a father, I watched and studied the parenting successes and failures of my friends and family. I soon realized I was fortunate to have many good examples how to raise a well-adjusted, loving, and respectful child. I was also very lucky to have the best nanny anyone could imagine - my mother. I say that as objectively as a son can. What she gave Alison was the sweetest disposition a parent could hope for. From my friends and family I copied the traits of the best examples. To describe the style, I would call it discipline with a loving hand. I had to clean up my act as well. Being a good role model was what I tried to deliver. I may be biased, but I love the results.
So, what is the message of this blog? Parenting is way too important to "wing it". The biggest gift my daughter gives me every day is that she never appears embarrassed or ashamed to introduce me to her friends. I may never have been cool, but maybe I've been acceptable and lovable.
