The dads at Custom Systems are all pretty remarkable guys. We have new dads and a new grandfather. Milestones? You could say that. Their kids range from teething to teens, college to new careers. This Father’s Day, we asked them to share some parenting insight. Here are a few of their responses. Happy Father’s Day!
Advice For My Newborn Son:
Learn to drive a stick-shift.
Appreciate every day.
Love your Mother.
Stand during the Pledge Allegiance.
If it’s a fair fight, you don’t want to be in it.
If you are getting flack, it’s because you are over the target.
Safety is third. If it were first, you wouldn’t go.
Be the master of your own emotions.
Carry two handkerchiefs: One is for you, the other is for her.
The Warrior is more comfortable facing his enemy, facing danger – than not.
Try not to make mistakes, but if you do: learn something from them.
Learn a foreign language. Preferably math.
Advice For My Teenage Daughter:
I’ve already taught you everything I know. Just keep being you, and you will be great!
Chase
‘Dad, Can You Fix This?’ or “You Want Me to Do What?”
If you are a techie, then you can relate to this. In my immediate and extended family, I am the Tech Guy. That means that if a family member has a question about a piece of technology, then I must be the one with the answer. Being a tech geek, I have supplied my household with PCs, laptops, smart phones, tablets, all-in-one printers, games systems, streaming media devices, and more. Along with this comes the responsibility of being the support person.
I am the go-to guy for tech answers, even when I have no idea what they are talking about. My oldest daughter will come to me and ask me how to accomplish something I have never heard of. I of course go to work to find her an answer because that is what Dad does. I now know how to modify posts on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and other sites. The funny thing is that I had never been on those sites until my daughter needed help. My son loves his Minecraft. I now know how to create a Minecraft server with updates and mods. I still have never played the game. I am a Warcraft person. The best was when my youngest daughter wanted me to fix an issue with a school web site. I am sorry to say that I was not able to accomplish what she wanted. Mostly because of the morality involved in hacking a public school’s web site, not to mention the laws.
I am happy to say that my wife has not asked me to get the mixer on-line. It was hard enough when I had to do it for the toaster.
Craig
On becoming a father
When I was younger I was afraid to become a father. I used to wonder if I could handle it and if I would be able to provide for my child or children. As I got older and got married, I became excited to have children but was still afraid. I now have one son who is about 20 months old. All I can say is having him was the greatest moment of my life. There are days I want to pull my hair out, but every second of it is worth it. I would like to have more children now that I have him. Watching him grow is nothing short of amazing.
He is so funny to watch. I will be in my office working at my desk and he will come running in, grab my personal laptop that I leave on the ground for him, and just starting typing away. Even at 20 months he knows how to open the laptop, turn it on, and even plug the charger cord in. He wants to plug it into the wall to, but not until he is older. It is just so funny to watch the things he does as he learns new things. He wants to mimic everything he sees and be like everyone else.
Becoming a father is such an amazing gift. It is something that I hope all men someday have the chance to experience. It is one of the most trying things you will probably ever do but at the same time one of the most rewarding. I look forward to watching him grow up and become a young man, I just hope it does not happen too quickly. I want to enjoy every moment, for as long as I can.
Ryan
Raising a grandson
The real challenge in raising a grandchild after you’ve raised your own children is that sometimes you just want to scream, I have already done this once! But that doesn’t help the child. So you wait for those moments when he surprises you with something that makes you proud. Like when he got the Assistant Principal’s Award for the student that showed the most growth socially and academically over his high school years. He was as surprised as we were. He wasn’t expecting any awards, other than an acknowledgement of his work in teen counsel. He’s graduating from high school this month and plans to enlist in a branch of the service in September. And that’s when you say to yourself, maybe he will make it after all.
Dale