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Now aside from my amazing new homework skills, the lessons in some of my classes this week were really inspiring. For one of them I had to interview my parents about some of the challenges and benefits of raising kids. As I write this I may get a little emotional. Because that's just the kind of person I am when anybody opens up to me. But I want to share a few of my favorite things I learned from them. Mostly it'll be excerpts from the summary I did of the interviews, but I'll include some other things that I found especially meaningful personally.
I'll start with Dad.
Many of my dad’s comments focused on how to counteract what the world is currently teaching about family. He said that the role of a father is diminished and undermined these days. Popular TV shows often depict the father as a ‘dumb bafoon,’ as my dad says, or a bumbling idiot who lacks integrity, authority, and responsibility altogether. A lot of people feel very strongly that women can do it all on their own and that a father is unnecessary. However, the role of a father is critical. We know this because of our church standpoint on it. His priesthood is one of the most important parts of his fatherhood. The ability to provide for his family spiritually as well as physically is a vital component to the role of father. He said that a father’s role is to protect and provide for his family in many different ways. It’s the father’s duty to set an example, to teach, to stand for something, and to help his family succeed, whatever that might mean. My dad is a father of four daughters and one son, so oftentimes helping his daughters succeed simply meant making them feel good about themselves. Sometimes that meant gathering us all for scriptures every night, while other times it meant taking us shopping to find a modest prom dress.
“All in all,” he said, “Once you’re a parent, it’s for life. You’ve made the choice.” He said it's a lot like converting to the church. When a person accepts the gospel they have to accept a lot…Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, the standards of the church- if there’s any one of those things they get caught up on they can’t progress. It’s similar with parenting. He said, “When a parent is bitter about the responsibility or the sacrifices they’ve had to make for their kids, they let that get in the way. But if you give yourself to Christ as you raise a child, just as you do in religion, if you get to that level of acceptance, if you're really in it for better or for worse, then the hard times you go through don’t mean a thing in the end. The benefits definitely outweigh the cost.”
When I asked him how- how the benefits outweigh the cost- he said, "In your wildest dreams, Hill, you’ll never understand it till it’s your own. When it’s your own kids. You'll love your nieces and nephews, but the moment you have your own it doesn’t compare. As much as you still love your nieces and nephews, it’s a thousand times more with your own kids. It’s all worth every bit of it. Don’t look at the costs. It’s not that you have to…it’s that you get to. Remember that. It’s get to not have to."
How do I even end this post without making him feel awkward? I love my Dad. I can't express how much I loved doing this interview with him.
I'll start with Dad.
Many of my dad’s comments focused on how to counteract what the world is currently teaching about family. He said that the role of a father is diminished and undermined these days. Popular TV shows often depict the father as a ‘dumb bafoon,’ as my dad says, or a bumbling idiot who lacks integrity, authority, and responsibility altogether. A lot of people feel very strongly that women can do it all on their own and that a father is unnecessary. However, the role of a father is critical. We know this because of our church standpoint on it. His priesthood is one of the most important parts of his fatherhood. The ability to provide for his family spiritually as well as physically is a vital component to the role of father. He said that a father’s role is to protect and provide for his family in many different ways. It’s the father’s duty to set an example, to teach, to stand for something, and to help his family succeed, whatever that might mean. My dad is a father of four daughters and one son, so oftentimes helping his daughters succeed simply meant making them feel good about themselves. Sometimes that meant gathering us all for scriptures every night, while other times it meant taking us shopping to find a modest prom dress.
“All in all,” he said, “Once you’re a parent, it’s for life. You’ve made the choice.” He said it's a lot like converting to the church. When a person accepts the gospel they have to accept a lot…Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, the standards of the church- if there’s any one of those things they get caught up on they can’t progress. It’s similar with parenting. He said, “When a parent is bitter about the responsibility or the sacrifices they’ve had to make for their kids, they let that get in the way. But if you give yourself to Christ as you raise a child, just as you do in religion, if you get to that level of acceptance, if you're really in it for better or for worse, then the hard times you go through don’t mean a thing in the end. The benefits definitely outweigh the cost.”
When I asked him how- how the benefits outweigh the cost- he said, "In your wildest dreams, Hill, you’ll never understand it till it’s your own. When it’s your own kids. You'll love your nieces and nephews, but the moment you have your own it doesn’t compare. As much as you still love your nieces and nephews, it’s a thousand times more with your own kids. It’s all worth every bit of it. Don’t look at the costs. It’s not that you have to…it’s that you get to. Remember that. It’s get to not have to."
How do I even end this post without making him feel awkward? I love my Dad. I can't express how much I loved doing this interview with him.
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