Son,
I try to be a good influence on you. There are times that I know I’m not that great of a dad. For that, I am sorry. I am working on being the best dad that I can be. There are times like when I lost your trust that makes me feel like an awful father. Or the days where I can teach you that listening to your mother is a good thing. Then there are days where you do not want me to go to work and just hug my leg until I have to go. It is not easy being a father, but I learned from the best.
Father's Day - The Rookie Dad
You might not realize yet, but your dad also had a dad who was a great influence in his life. That is right, Grandpa! The person that you usually see through the phone on a Face time call. The man that you are so excited to see, who drives 8 hours to come see you, and to have you just be goofy and not play with him. Little do you realize, that he was a major influence in my life. I learned so much from him, despite the grief that I caused him. He made it to every little league game, the man who dropped everything to teach me how to mow the lawn, and the man who passed down his love for technology to his son.
It may appear that your grandfather and me have a great relationship, and we do, however, it has not always been that way. I did give him a lot of grief growing up, whether it was the time that he would not let me go to a summer long summer camp or that I was tired of him coaching each my baseball teams. What I did not realize was just the type of father that he was being, a caring loving father. I see that now that I am a dad.
Ever since he became a grandfather, I have seen a change in him. I have seen the relationship between me and him grow substantially since he became your grandfather. We talk more, we even hug now, which is a huge step for the two of us. A lot of it has to be that I have grown-up and taken after your grandfather, but part of that is because you. He may not know it, but he has passed down wisdom to me that I hope I will pass down to you, family before everything. No matter your wealth or your popularity, family will always be there. Did you have a rough day? Your family will always be there to pick you up. Did you have a bad day on the ball field? Your family will help you break out of your slump. In the end family is all you have.
Grandfather - The Rookie Dad
Kid, you might not know this, but you are extremely lucky to have a grandfather who loves you as much as he does. When I see him playing on his iPad with you I cannot help but smile knowing that the two of you are going to have an incredible relationship. I see the joy in his eyes when he sees you and the smile on his face. He taught me how to be a father and now, he is teaching me to be a grandfather.
Son, I only wish that I could be half the father that your grandfather was to me. I look at it this way, I had a pretty good teacher growing up and I will try to pass that down to you.
Love,
Dad
