My Father's Day Wish

"You live your life by a code, an ethos. Every man does. It's your shoreline. It's what guides you home. And trust me, you're always trying to get home." Act of Valor, 2012.

I did not truly understand my father until my children had become adults. By then, his mind was failing him. I don't know that he understood what I told him. I was sorry, I said, that I could never give him the Father's Day gift he wanted.

He wanted me to gain wisdom as I grew older, without enduring the pain upon which wisdom is built.

My children have grown and matured, celebrated triumphs and suffered heartbreak. They have carved out productive, enriched lives of their own and along the way learned how to cope with each day's challenges and uncertainties. They are three fine people, and I love them.

They have earned their own kinds of wisdom the old fashioned way. I wish it were otherwise. I understand why it is not. That is a gift my father gave me.