“When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.” – The Talmud
Friends and family have encouraged the founders of Reno Dads to get something together, to highlight the positive roles fathers play in the families in our community. It’s a noble endeavor and fatherhood is a humbling task, but our journey of learning and discovery began well before our own kids were born.
Our earliest understanding of fatherhood developed when we were each kids ourselves. Our fathers, each unique in their own right, are to who we collectively and lovingly dedicate this project. It was our fathers who first taught us to be fathers ourselves. Perhaps not by advice, but by example. By example of pure dedication to our family. By example of unwavering service to our country and community. By example of true love and friendship. We learned how to be fathers by watching our own, a lesson we are now passing to our children and they will pass on to theirs.
It is an incredible honor to follow in their footsteps, with as much humility and grace as a father can have. There is nothing like watching our kids grow and learn, seeing their enthusiasm and excitement for life, remembering when we were boys looking up to our dads as we grew.
We are products of the world they created for us, our values passed down like a tradition. The responsibility of raising a good child, no, a good citizen, is humbling. Were it not for the example and sacrifice our fathers made for us, this task of fatherhood would be daunting. And it still is, but with our memories from childhood we embark willingly, and excitedly, on this journey. Well, keeping in mind that dad is just a phone call away.
The overwhelming amount of love we feel for our children is due in fact to the love felt for us by our fathers. We can in no way repay this incredible debt, but by living their example we can do right by them and our children will be better off for it.
So, to our dads.
We love you. We thank you. And we will do right by you. We will sacrifice and we will teach, we will learn and we will love. We will honor the example you set as we have and will always.
[photo courtesy of Howard Ignatius]
