Fatherhood x3
I present tonight three stories of three fathers…one real, one fictional and one me.
1) Mr. Ford — There’s a Ford minivan commercial out now that I noticed a few weeks ago. It appears that the family is out enjoying their vacation, winding through the roads on a long trip. Then the twist.
Dad gets out, hugs the kids, and they get back in the van with Mom. He thanks her for being allowed to participate in their lives.
On one hand, this is nice. Despite divorce, both parents are able to put their differences aside for the kids and take a family vacation.
On the other hand, it’s sad. Divorce has torn apart so many families that it’s now “normal” enough to be featured in a commercial. The twist isn’t that they’re divorced…the twist is that they still get along.
Good or bad? Both in my book.
2) Mr. Biological — A man in New Mexico is in a legal battle to win custody of his biological son, who was adopted out by the biological mother but didn’t tell dad about it. The adoption agency didn’t try to contact him either. He found out two months after the adoption and immediately sought custody.
See the story at FoxNews.com.
The courts have battled back and forth in the case for more than two years now.
As an adoptive father, this case is scary. Because our adoption was international, there’s almost no chance we’d face this kind of fight.
I admire this man’s determination to raise his son. But at some point, the damage to the child is going to be significant.
What we need in custody cases like this is a fast-track court process. And once a child is over a certain age, say 6-12 months, there are no more appeals. For the good of the children, the court’s ruling must stand. Additional motions should be able to be filed and precedents set, but only in the interest of future cases.
I’m not a lawyer and I’m sure there are problems with what I’m proposing. But shouldn’t the spirit of the law include what’s best for the children? Easier said than done, but those are my thoughts tonight.
3) Mr. Hickey — Sometimes being a good dad sucks. Literally.
I was playing with Ian last Friday night and we were having a great time. Then he found a suction cup and I stuck it on my forehead. He tried to pull it off with one hand but couldn’t. Two hands on the sides of the cup did it. I stuck it on his head and it didn’t stay there long (I have more forehead). So I kept putting it on me and he kept pulling it off. I even tried to pull it off once, and once was enough. The force of my pulling on the center of the cup left a nice red hickey in the center of my forehead larger than a quarter.
I noticed it two hours later when I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.
Normally I’d get mad about doing something so stupid, but this time I just giggled. Silly, eh?
A pastor at church on Sunday thought I’d been hit by a golf ball. People at work jokingly asked if I changed religions or had been hit by a contentious co-worker.
Nope. Just the mark of a good dad.
Well, good for a few minutes of playtime on a Friday night.
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For more on fatherhood and the importance of fathers in our nation, please visit Ed Litton’s Blog.