My Adult Son is crashing with Me right now. This most recent Father’s Day, He picked up this book for Me while thrift-store browsing. [N: a pursuit I take credit for inspiring within Him during His formative years]
He’s being a Good Father to his daughter – trying to run the gauntlet of “Life’s Responsibilities” and never-ending To-Dos – but He still tries to Prioritize moments to “be present with Her” and “be there, IRL, for Her.”
He doesn’t get it air-quotes ‘Right’ 100% of the time.
But You know what I realized after awhile? My Own TECH evaluation of whether or not My Son is doing Fatherhood right isn’t for Me to say. And when I do say it? It’s My Opinion. And You know what they say about opinions, DR.
The only one who gets a vote on whether Me or anybody else is a “Good” Father? The Kid they are raising. The Kid they are providing for. The Kid they are making every effort to Connect with. To Support. To… share in their successes, and to embrace them in their pain, all the while saying those Magic Words:
“It’s All Gonna Be Okay. I Promise.”
. . .
Which, all this isn’t the Story I wanna tell right now. All this is the necessary Context for this Story. [N: loll]
Originally – upon being gifted this book however many months ago – I expressed My glee/joy/happiness for My Kid to witness it, and allow His SB the opportunity to acquire the data for His Own Files – AKA the Proof – that informs TECH that, “Dad is pleased. I made Dad feel happy. I did a Good Thing.”
Because that saying, “Seeing is Believing”? Accurate.
Fast-forward to the Current Day part of this Story. So as He was going about His Father-Daughter activities for the weekend, I brought the Tao of Pooh back to Him, and gave Him a bid. [N: recall that bids are optional, DR]
“I want You to write Me a message, here, so whatever happens – You level up before I do, for example – I will be rereading this message over & over & over again in that multiverse. For infinity.”
[N: there’s too many Seeds to pick out and detail right now, DR, so do the best You can, trying to piece it out on Your Own… sooner or later, maybe I’ll give You more]
And while initially He balked at the thought of this assignment – Kids always push back, when You give Them Something New – He did make Me a promise, that “before I leave for Home I’ll do it, Dad.”
And this Guy? This formerly-My-Own-Seed but now a fully-fledged Adult Human Being, that – IMHO – is Killing it with this Adulting BS?
He did Not disappoint.
. . .
Conner’s Comments: The first few pages of any book? This is for PASSION’s autograph. PASSION’s ideas. PASSION’s feelings… all poured out – distilled into – a brief, meaningful collection of very specific words in a very particular order.
Kinda like Life, eh DR? And don’t let Anybody tell You, DR, that signing a book on the inside page “decreases the value.” They are Wrong. The signature – the mark of one individual, never before seen Human Being that I am intimately Connected to? How much is that worth to Me, do You think?
Maybe in Hindsight?