Fathers Day

This is a day that naturally many of us reflect on our fathers and our relationship with them or what they taught us.

My father always tried to teach me the value of work. In fact when I was young he gave me a copy of this poem to try and put into words what he could not.

It is a poem penned by General MacArthur and yes my dad was a West Point grad as well so he had a natural affinity for great alumni from there. However, this poem still does ring true and makes me think about many things.

I'm posting this in dedication of my dad. Happy Fathers Day!

Build Me a Son
General Douglas A. MacArthur

Build me a son, O Lord,
who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
and brave enough to face him self when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be
where his backbone should be;
a son who will know Thee-
and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm;
here, let him team compassion for those who fall.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear,
whose goals will be high;
a son who will master himself
before he seeks to master other men;
one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep;
one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray,
enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious,
yet never take himself too seriously.

Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom,
the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."

Anyone else have any good lessons they learned from their father?