Double Duty
I’m forever grateful to the good folks over at the City Dads Group for giving me a platform to share my thoughts on fatherhood as I navigate this journey. In my latest piece, I talk about balancing my own responsibilities as a dad, with dealing with the challenges of aging parents. If you’re of a certain age, and you have one of both of your parents still with you, you most certainly can relate to some degree.
As I pointed out in the piece, “just as I have to exercise patience with my kids as they grow up, I have to do the same with my parents as they grow older. It’s a balancing act that forces me to flip the switch depending on who I’m dealing with. They both require different versions of me. As a dad, I have to realize my kids are still new to the world. They’re still learning. I have to remind myself that they’re always watching and their little eyes see every reaction I have. They see how I act and how I respond to them. So even as they work my nerves, I have to remain cool. As a son, I have to exercise patience that is rooted in grace. The grace that helps me be understanding and gentle with my parents as they navigate this stage of their lives. As frustrating as it may get at times, I can’t lose my cool with them, either.”
It’s a growth that is required of me as both a father and son. As dads, we have to constantly learn and adapt to meet our kids where they are. It looks like we have to do that same as sons as well.
To read the piece in its entirety, click here.