The lockers are all open
by David B. Savage
During my morning meditation this Father’s Day, I sent love and gratitude to my dad and my grandfathers, their fathers and grandfathers and my son, and grandsons and their future sons. I remembered experiences, lessons, and stories. I remember love. I became curious about the forefathers that I have never met and their stories.
An image of a long school hallway with many lockers on both sides came to me. I walked through this hallway. As I passed each locker, I said hello and thank you. As I did, each locker opened.
Soon there were hundreds of men in this long school hallway. Wonderful how the meditation placed fathers in a school. Many teachers.
Once I reached the end of the hallway, I invited all my fathers, son, sons-in-law, stepson, grandsons, and their sons to come outside with me. Hundreds convened on a beautiful sunny day on the schoolyard grass. We connected, and shared stories and hopes. We laughed and cried.
The lockers are all open. We are all here.
Welcome.
And thank you to Alissa, Heather, and Dan for choosing me as their father.
Excerpt from MedicineNet: Fathers Roles and Responsibilities
Fathers are important because they do the following:
- Impact the child’s success. Chances of educational success increase when fathers are involved in parenting. Children are less likely to get involved in situations like teenage birth, being expelled, or serving a jail sentence.
- Contribute to healthy emotional development. Fathers who tend to solve conflict respectfully and non-violently with their spouses contribute to their children’s solid emotional development. Children learn what to expect and how to treat their partners in relationships.
- Improve a child’s general well-being. Present fathers help their children learn how to make better life choices. Fathers highly contribute to their children’s cognitive development. Children with developed cognitive function feel more loved, which improves behavior.
- Provide financial support. Involved fathers might contribute to the larger household bills. Non-involved fathers are also encouraged to provide child support.
Fathers provide another point of view for their children. Fathers can provide a different perspective. Fathers may handle situations differently from mothers.