Dear Maddie

Dear Maddie,

You are graduating from high school and "moving out" in a couple of months and I am not sure how I feel about it. 

As I type this, I am probably feeling more emotional than I have. 

I will never forget the day you were born and I saw my daughter...the feeing of love was nothing I had ever experienced in how I loved you in that very moment.

It was a wave of love, excitement and fear. Fear because I was now responsible for a person and you can't mess around with that.

I've often joked if a pet dies everyone goes "awwww" that's too bad, but if something happens to your child, there's an investigation.

But it has been an absolute joy, but also honor to be your dad as you have reached this point.

I have learned so much about myself and about what matters in life because of you.

I took you to your first day of kindergarten (pictured above) and was there when you walked out as a student for the last time, and it seems like it happened in a blink.

Time is moving at two speeds all the time, quickly and slowly.

I know I haven't always been the best dad, and I am so sorry for those moments (okay, this is making me a little emotional), because I am not perfect and you are to me in so many ways, I failed you.

But never ever doubt that your mother and I love you.

Mom shows it other ways, but she would literally kill for you. Me, too...I am just more vocal about it and people know to back off!

Anyway...

I am so impressed with you. You're the best human I know and how I feel now with you graduating and moving on to the next part of your life is "a job well done".

Your mom had more to do with it than me, but I know I had a hand in it even if just backing up your mother.

But, I have zero doubts that you're going to do wonderful things and you're going to keep your mind on Christ as you do it.

And that's a win.

So congratulations, I love you, and there is never anything you could do that I won't love you.

I may get agitated, I may wonder what the F is gong on? 

But I will never not love you.

Know that while walking in and out of our door at home, it is just that...your home. A place you are loved unconditionally and the door is always open for you.

 

The World is Upside Down...or Am I Just Getting Older?

I can remember in the late 1970's listening to my father and grandfather talk about how bad the country and world were. And it seems that every generation does this, they talk about how bad things have gotten. I never seem to hear how good things have gotten as time has passed. 

But here I am, thinking that the world is upside down.

That up is down and down is up, but could it be because I am getting older and looking back at the glory days of my youth when my dad and grandpa thought what I think today?

But we literally cannot define words anymore.

We claim everything is wrong, that even math is bad because of who used it first (math was discovered by the way).

I struggle in thinking that it's a small minority that actually partakes or believes in this "craziness", but yet, I see lots of "normal" people who support it and are willing to fight for it.

I said recently that if the most recently "craziness" ends, it won't be the worst part that it happened, but that we supported and celebrated it.

But it won't matter. 

Few people see the correlation or would admit that just maybe by celebrating the most recent craziness actually leads to their downfall as well as the slippery slope that is our culture.

I've seen students not get the help they need because we support and celebrate certain things that five years ago would have gotten them immediate, severe help. I worry that we see the results of horrifically bad things that have happened to people and celebrate those results when we should be healing what happened to them.

But what do I know?

I know that the hypocrisy of some is so prevalent they struggle to even see that their own words and actions are hypocritical or could be seen as such.

I said today, I think many issues are on pendulum and we often don't do enough for certain issues like mental health, and then we get into the sweet spot of where we need to be, but alas, we go too far past what was needed.

But, maybe this pendulum will swing back to the sweet spot again.

We can only hope.

But what do I know? I'm just a guy who sees too much and thinks too often.