The best graduation I ever went to was my daughter’s from Kindergarten. It was so particularly moving on some wonderful level. Our family was supposed to sing a song together and I became such an emotional mess that I couldn’t sing. I was weeping and as hard as I tried to control it, I couldn’t. I’ve never been able to explain it to anyone very well, but I was peculiarly aware of the passage of time and I sensed that my little baby was moving on to being a child and that the film was about to speed up. I was right and it did and has.
In our house, June is a month of birthdays, my daughter’s, mine and those of many good friends. We have dinner celebrations and all feel great that the beautiful month of June is the month we entered into life. The good thing about having birthdays in the summer months is that you are able to have festivities outdoors if you want to. We have had many parties in the park, brought our food, set up a picnic under the shade of the trees and watched the children frolic in the beauty of late spring/early summer. Great memories.
Father’s Day as I was growing up was every four years a special day I would share with my own Dad, because every four years it fell on my birthday. I loved this shared day with my father although he never liked making a big deal of it. In this issue we talk a good deal about fathers and how important their role is as a hands-on parent. It can make or break the equilibrium of most children and the absence of a father can be devastating. We are happily finding that more Dads are opting for a strong presence and shared responsibility in the raising of their children starting from infancy. This is a very different posture and a welcome sociological change from past generations.
Although stay-at-home Dads are a welcome phenomenon and the number of men opting to be the primary caregiver to their children under 18 has risen considerably, unfortunately, so has the number of households without a father and children who have no male figure/role model in their lives has gone up as well. This is utterly detrimental to the well being of millions of children and it must be our societal goal to change this statistical reality.
If there’s a graduation or a birthday in your family this month, enjoy! Cherish the moments and bookmark the memories. To all the Fathers, we wish you a lifetime of responsible interaction with your children and the joy of hands-on caregiving. You will be happy you did and so will your children.
Have a great month. Thanks for reading!
