My wife, Yvonne, and I have five kids, one girl followed by four boys: Melissa, Colin, Carson, Dylan, and Levi. The number often stuns people. Five kids?
It’s raised some interesting questions from the bewildered, along the lines of:
“Are they all yours?”
Depending on who asks and what mood I’m in, I’ll have some fun:
· (suspicious) Why? Do you know something?
· (practical) Sort of; I’m still making monthly payments.
· (offended) What are you implying about my wife? You don’t even know her!
· (optimistic) Yep, and we’re only halfway there.
· (distrusting) To be honest, I doubt any of them are mine.
· (heroic) Nope, I adopted them after Chuck Norris and I rescued them from a P.O.W. camp.
The real answer, whether my kids like it or not, is yes, they are all mine (and yes, my wife and I know what causes it). We are both from large families, and we wanted a large family. It’s what we do, the life we chose. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love being a dad. Although it has its challenges, the rewards are great. I love being around my family, whether we are working or playing or just hanging around; listening to music or laughing or learning together; serving at church or being with friends or riding in the car together. Together with my wife, we make a great team. I work very hard at my job to provide for my family; sometimes that leads to me being away from home more than I like, but my priority is always home.
I also recognize my responsibility to raise kids with character and morals and principles and manners. That makes me unpopular at home and outside our home sometimes, and I accept that. I’m tough on my kids because I want them to rise above the mediocre standards society has placed on people in general so that my kids become productive, ethical, intelligent, responsible adults who contribute to society and humankind, who give more than they get, and who are positioned to enjoy life while bringing joy to others’ lives. My kids don’t always like it, but (generally in retrospect) they appreciate it.
So I’m not really legendary (well, maybe in my own mind), but through my five kids, I’m hopeful I’ll get there in time.
It’s raised some interesting questions from the bewildered, along the lines of:
“Are they all yours?”
Depending on who asks and what mood I’m in, I’ll have some fun:
· (suspicious) Why? Do you know something?
· (practical) Sort of; I’m still making monthly payments.
· (offended) What are you implying about my wife? You don’t even know her!
· (optimistic) Yep, and we’re only halfway there.
· (distrusting) To be honest, I doubt any of them are mine.
· (heroic) Nope, I adopted them after Chuck Norris and I rescued them from a P.O.W. camp.
The real answer, whether my kids like it or not, is yes, they are all mine (and yes, my wife and I know what causes it). We are both from large families, and we wanted a large family. It’s what we do, the life we chose. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love being a dad. Although it has its challenges, the rewards are great. I love being around my family, whether we are working or playing or just hanging around; listening to music or laughing or learning together; serving at church or being with friends or riding in the car together. Together with my wife, we make a great team. I work very hard at my job to provide for my family; sometimes that leads to me being away from home more than I like, but my priority is always home.
I also recognize my responsibility to raise kids with character and morals and principles and manners. That makes me unpopular at home and outside our home sometimes, and I accept that. I’m tough on my kids because I want them to rise above the mediocre standards society has placed on people in general so that my kids become productive, ethical, intelligent, responsible adults who contribute to society and humankind, who give more than they get, and who are positioned to enjoy life while bringing joy to others’ lives. My kids don’t always like it, but (generally in retrospect) they appreciate it.
So I’m not really legendary (well, maybe in my own mind), but through my five kids, I’m hopeful I’ll get there in time.
Like the title says, Legendary.
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