Fatherhood is wonderful! When Bodie looks at me with his big, beautiful, innocent eyes he peers right into my soul. That look makes me want to be both a great dad and a great person. It tells me that fatherhood brings not only joy, but responsibility. It reminds me of what a great job my father did raising me and teaching me how to be a good person.
I have a story that still makes my eyes water fourteen years later. My father was a salesman with a territory of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I returned to Minnesota for Christmas break in 1992 when I was in my second year of law school. My sister, Jina, and I traveled with Dad to Southern Minnesota for a sales call. Dad introduced me to one of the employees in the warehouse. Later, when Dad was off somewhere else and just the employee and I were standing there he asked:
“So what are you studying to be?”
“A lawyer,” I told him.
And then I forget the exact words, but I remember the substance: if you are anything like your father then you’re going to be a great person.
Even though I knew my father was a good person and that conversation occurred well after any rough spots in our relationship, I was immediately touched. In my fading memory of that day I like to think I gave Dad a big hug before getting in the car and heading back to Minneapolis.