Father's Day Vocation

On December 16, 1976 I became a father for the first time.  Then one year and fifty weeks later I became a father for the second, third and fourth time.  This was a totally unique, exciting, and scary experience.  

We had thought that we were going to have just one child. About almost five months into the pregnancy, my wife had a checkup scheduled on a Friday. I went to work as an inspector at a Steel Mill and I found I would be laid off for a long period of time.  I drove home trying to see how to break this news to my wife.  She met me at the door and told me that she had some news to tell me.  I smiled and said, I did too.

She went first.  I was not prepared for what was about to happen. She told me that the doctor had done an ultrasound on the baby and they told her that there were three babies.  Three babies?  How was that possible?  These were the questions going through my mind.  She then said that she had to go into the hospital for complete bed rest.  She stayed the next two months in the hospital.  During this period of time, I was able to obtain a temporary job a block away from the hospital.  I was able to work and see her everyday.

While in the hospital the doctors were preparing us for a hospital bill of over one million dollars.  Again we were blessed.  When the girls were born the total bill came to just a little under 150,000 dollars.  Again a real blessing because our insurance covered all but less than 250 dollars of the bill.  

After the birth of girls and having four young children two years apart our lives changed forever.  When the girls were little we would have three strollers in a store and people would come up and tell us- those twins are so cute.  The rest of our lives while they were at home there were: three of everything- three dolls, three cribs, three bikes, three skates, and then three cars.  

Because of layoffs, I left the steel mill and became a teacher/coach.  We moved around a great deal but I was able to teach my children in elementary school, junior high school, and I was their high school principal, junior high curriculum director, and counselor.  I also was very lucky to have been able to teach all four in college as well.  Today, three of the children are in education.  Two of the children already have their Masters Degree and the other two are working on their Master’s currently.  My son is completely his Ed. D now and one of the girls is completing her second Master's Degree currently.  

However, with all of their success, I have felt so blessed to be their father and so humbled to be able to say that they have greatly influenced me throughout my life as well. I left school administration to spend the past twenty years in the classroom because my son reintroduced me to Debate.  He was active in debate in high school and I really enjoyed helping him.  I became a debate teacher because of my son.  I was also able to see my children win state competitions and compete at national competitions.  This is the real blessing of being a parent.

Today, two of the children have become members of the Church.  The other two, I know, will someday also become members.  My life has been enriched by this experience and I would not exchange it for all of the money in the world. My life has not been the same since.  I have been blessed many times over and over throughout my life.  I would really recommend to anyone who is thinking about becoming a parent- you could not get any more blessings in your life from any vocation.  God needs good parents.  God also has a plan for you.  Do not think that you have to have everything just right before you have your child.  God will bless you just like he did me.  That is what I have learned through my experience as being a father to four children.  God bless them and God bless you.  Amen