I am going to be frank with you, oh dear reader. I am not a father. But if I did have children, and trust me one day I will, I will be a great father. How do I know this, you may be asking yourselves. Well, it is very simple. I have had one man in my life show me the way to be a great father to my future children.
The man who showed me how to be a great father, and how to treat my children is that of my earthly father, Randy Phillippe. You see, my dad was and still is one of my great heroes. He was born to a couple who didn’t always have a lot, but through not having much, he was able to overcome it all, go to college, and become very successful in the customer service realm.
But to me, it wasn’t his career path that truly illustrated his character. It was what he did at home for us that set him apart. Plain and simple, my father was there. Every day when I got home from school, he was there. He showed us what true passion was. His first love was the piano, but through his talent on the keys, he was able to show his whole family and me that if you are passionate about something, and work hard at it, you can do wonders.
Another thing I have learned from my father is to celebrate and have fun. Through my twenty-four years in being his son, my dad has taken us on some really awesome vacations. We have been to Disney world eight times; many Dallas Mavericks games, and even a trip or two see the Grand Canyon. But it wasn’t always just vacations that we went on that showed us how to have fun. He taught my brothers and me that we could have just as much fun sitting around the television and playing board games or cards. He taught us that it is the simple company of being around family and friends that is the most fun.
But probably the most important thing that I have learned from my dad is love and honor. He showed me through his actions, to put God first. We were in church every Sunday and Wednesday and it was the best choice he could have ever made for his family. It was also through his actions that I was able to see the love he showed for my mother, his wife. Through loving my mother, he set the prime example of what kind of husband I was going to become in my marriage. For this, I am entirely grateful.
So, I may not have children yet. But what I do have is the example of what kind of father I will become. And if I can become a tenth of the type of man he is, and become the kind of father he is for my children, I will be entirely grateful, as will my children.
So for all the fathers and sons out there, who are the major influences in your life? Who do you strive to be like? What kind of father do you long to become?
My Story. 