Once again it’s Father’s Day and a time to honor all of our Dads
Please enjoy these heartfelt quotes featured in our “Wisdom of Dads” 2017 Express.
Quotes from Dads to Dads:
“I would tell another Dad that right away you’re going to feel the pressure of responsibility and duty swell beyond what you thought possible. You’ll dread the thought of making mistakes while caught up in the day to day.
The best advice I got is to smother your child in your love. Rain affection down on them. Hug them every chance you get, kiss them every chance you get, and tell them that you love them every single day without falter.
My child, who is low-functioning autistic and non-verbal, even if he can’t tell me so, I know that he feels secure in that love. No matter how many mistakes I’ve made, that will always be the thing I did right.”
“A Dad’s life: wake up, go to work, come home, chauffeur, do chores, exercise, play with your kids, help with homework. Before you know it, bedtime. Life moves fast.
A Dad’s life for a child with a significant disability (the list expands) medication management, doctors appointments, physical therapy appointments, occupational therapy appointments, IEP meetings, tutoring, assessments…plus everything from the first list. Before you know it, bedtime. Life moves faster.
It’s easy to get caught up in the minutia. Are my child’s needs being met? Is my wife ok? Are my other children getting enough attention? Am I doing everything I possibly can? Nope, I’m not doing enough; I need to do more…”
“Get lots of help. I’ve found care-giving can cause resentment. While other parents enjoy freedoms once children gain a certain age, special needs parents do not enjoy as much freedom. I very much enjoy the times when I am not care-giving but enjoying my daughter, especially in the early morning when she greets me with a smile.”
“Allow yourself to grieve. You are facing the “death of a dream”, the death of what you had “planned” for your child.You have to go through the grieving process for that. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck trying to “fix it”, or denying it or blaming someone or something for it. You’ll never be able to truly be there for your child.
When you go through the grieving process, you’ll realize that you have a whole new set of dreams for your child, and those dreams are wonderful. And there’s a good chance that you may come to realize that the new dreams probably should have been your dreams for your child all along.”