Father's Day and Paying It Forward

This past weekend we celebrated Father's Day. As a Father of three wonderfully wild children, I think of Father’s Day as celebration of paying it forward. Taking the life lessons of my Grandfather and Father and instilling them on my kids. 

From My Grandfather, a holocaust survivor who came here with nothing, I learned that with hard work virtually anything is achievable. He learned the language, started a family, built a business, and used his retirement money to ensure the three generations he created spent one vacation a year enjoying being a family together. 

Then there is my Dad whom I worked alongside during my formative years. Yet the most important thing I learned from him was that work alone is nothing. My father, an avid fly-fisherman, taught me the importance of a productive hobby to maintain sanity. Just last week we enjoyed a family dinner of freshly caught river trout. And my wonderfully wild children paid it back on Sunday by letting me sleep in.