With Father’s Day coming up on June 19 we asked a few local gentlemen to share with us what being a dad means to them. What we learned was it’s one of the blessings of life that many of us feel so lucky to experience.
Marty Jalove
Master Happiness LLC
I have four kids and love them all dearly. Katie is the first to transition from being my baby, to my student, a friend, a peer, and now a mentor. I love how she has mirrored the best of me and made it better. The most wonderful part about being a dad is watching your kids evolve into something amazing.
Sean Lee
Restoration Fitness
Fatherhood to me is about being a leader, mentor, coach, and role model. I embrace my responsibility as a father for being a guiding light for my children. I am here to nurture them; to know them; to shape and guide them; to teach them the fundamentals of being a good person: respect, manners, empathy, and work ethic. And most importantly for loving them for who they are unconditionally.
Tom Clark
Renee Clark Homes (@Properties)
When they were young: The joy of no more diapers; the shock of having my back to my 9-month old, then finding him gone (his first crawl); and having my mindset jolted from the ‘weight’ of a child needing me 100% to the ‘dismay’ of them no longer being so. Now that they are adults, I am not afraid to learn from them; being a model by living as a Grace note to others; and praying for the world to be fair & inclusive, and for our children playing their part.
Rich Wierzchon
Primrose School
Being a father has been one of the greatest things to happen to me. Over the years, watching my children grow, has taught me they are full of curiosity, love and are teachers themselves. Fatherhood completes who I am as a person.
John Briggs
Briggs Design
I really had no idea what I was doing when I first became a father. A defining moment was when I took my infant son, Andrew, to a coffee shop to meet some guy friends on the upper west side of New York without the baby blue diaper bag (I felt it was a little too feminine). You can imagine what happened, so I took things more seriously after that. My own dad was brilliant, a pioneer in the computer science field, but I think I picked up a little more from my wife Kerry’s father, observing his relationship with his children. I’m just glad both my kids survived me!
