“Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.” –Reed Markham
There are days I don’t want to shave so I don’t.
There are days my legs ache from the training, and I don’t run.
But being a father, a good father, is an every day thing.
If I am tired they still need to be fed.
If I hurt, they still need love.
If I want to give up, I can’t.
I show up and do the best I can because they deserve it.
They need it.
Even if I am thousand miles away from my kids, I am still their father. My actions will impact them financially and reputationally. I am still somewhat in dad mode even when they are as insulated as possible, because being a father is not a uniform one removes but something that is in your blood from the moment they are born. It is hereditary (you get it from your kids) and it stays with you wherever you walk.
Not every day am I a great father. That is an impossible task. But every day I am the best father I can be at the time, and that is a habit we can all hold to.
We can never really stop being a dad, even when they’re big enough to think they don’t need us.