The most courageous job I ever had wasn’t on the football field. It wasn’t on the wrestling mat. It wasn’t even on the battleground when I was in the army or high up in the sky when I was in the air force. The job that I now have as a parent is the job that day in and day out forces me to display never-ending and unimaginable feats of courage.
As a parent we cannot get away with even a moment of weakness. We have to be a good strong role model at all times, including the tough times. For example, we can’t be short with our spouse because he or she is the closest one to us when something went wrong. And we can’t do this very natural thing because first, it’s wrong and next, our children’s who love both of their parents are watching. Moment by moment our children are forming their opinions of what parenting is all about, what marriage is all about, what this world is all about, and what we’re all about.
Courage is what it takes to be a parent. After all, what else could we possibly use other than courage when so much of our hopes, dreams, and love is tied up in the lives of our little ones? Those little ones just so happen to also have a mind and will of their own and will often do their own thing. Consequently, many times their own thing will drive us parents crazy and sometimes even dash our parental hopes and crush our parental dreams. But, yet, as their parents we’re expected to step right back up to bat as if nothing even happened. Tell me, how else could we parents accomplish that feat if we parents weren’t just oozing and seeping with courage?
Now, as my Granddaddy always said, “Go learn, lead, and lay the way to a better world for all of us.” Parents, remember, we are the purest definition of courage. And once again parents, thanks in advance for all that you do, and all that you will do…