The Nine Lessons

After graduating from high school in 1991, I attended a public event where all recent graduates were asked what we wanted to be when we “grow up”.   I have to admit, I took exception to that question.  I’d just graduated from high school, for Pete’s sake, and what could possibly be more grown up than that?  Still, I knew what they were really asking:  what career will you pursue?  I tried to play along, but for the life of me, I didn’t know what I wanted to be. One by one my friends stepped up to the microphone and predicted their future successes.  Most wanted to be doctors, lawyers, and the like…nothing wrong with that.  When it was my turn, however, I chose to address my parents directly, explaining that I had absolutely no clue what job I would fulfill as a full-fledged adult (I’m sure at that moment they wanted to slink beneath their chairs).  “Eventually I’ll figure out how to earn a living,” I said.  “But if you really want to know what I’ll be when I grow up, I can tell you: I want to be just like my dad…and if I’m even half as good at being a father and husband as he is, I think everything else will work out just fine.”

Cheesy, I know, but one wife and five kids later I’m living the dream!   Jobs have come and gone since high school, but along the way nothing has been quite as satisfying—or scary or challenging or downright frustrating!—as marriage and parenthood.  With Father’s Day right around the corner, I sincerely hope that fathers, mothers, and children of all ages will appreciate the message of The Nine Lessons, and will seek to share their own lessons from one generation to the next.

Happy Father’s Day!