I'm baaaaaack...

My New Year's resolution for 2012 is one I made before the old year ended.  To spend more time as a husband and father and less time writing about my experiences and sharing them.
Thus my decision to put "Old School Dad" on hiatus for a few weeks. 
Because this is a specialty column, I don't write anything halfheartedly for the benefit of my readers.  I would be doing them and myself a disservice.
My companion column, "Ken's Korner", is more general-interest, and I can usually stock up about a month's worth of "working stock" at a time.  Not so much the case with my parenting column.
Because things in the news inspire me.  Sometimes they infuriate me.  Nonetheless, I'll still find something to write about by applying it in some fashion.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people read this.  For what reason, I don't know.  I'm not a child psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, schoolteacher, or otherwise qualified professionally to speak as I do.
I'm just a guy who believes in the First Amendment.  But I also believe that that freedom does carry some degree of responsibility.  Using this freedom in an irresponsible manner may even carry some repercussions in a court of law.
This is why I stress responsibility.  Because as a parent, I'm responsible for raising a productive member of society, which benefits society as a whole.
And I'm putting my money where my mouth is on this one.
My two and a half-year-old daughter is one of the most beautiful people I know.  Not just physically, but spiritually.  The kind of person that sheds a bright light upon what can sometimes seem like a dark and cruel world.
Though she's going through the 'terrible twos', there are times when she casts this challenging facade aside to present her caring and loving side.
Like when I miss a step and wince in pain because of my bad back.
"What happened Daddy?" 
I tell her.  She thinks I have a 'boo-boo' on my back.
"I kiss it", she says.  I smile and squat down.  She walks behind me and plants a peck in the middle of my spine.
Or when I take her upstairs for a nap of her own free will after she violently protested it a half hour earlier.
"Nap time, Dad".  I carry her upstairs.  She spreads out her arms as wide as she can to grab my shoulders.  "Big hug", she mumbles sleepily.  I slightly tighten my grip on her small body.
I place her on her back in her crib and tuck her two quilts under her as she closes her eyes.
"G'night Daddy..."
Or if she comes into the living room and sees me with a snack.
"Share for me?" 
I smile and give her a bite.  And she does reciprocate...usually without being asked.
Fortunately, this is a side to her that she chooses not to hide for only a few select people.  She's touched so many just by being her sweet-natured self.
That's the kind of person you will most likely not find in a house full of negativity, anger, violence, or chemical co-dependence.
A house of love will breed love.
While I want to raise a loving and caring child, I have to temper this with my resolve to raise a strong and assertive child.  One that can stand up to any attempts by anyone trying to exploit the strengths of her character, misinterpreting it as weakness.
And where I succeed, I owe it to my peers to share these successes.  So that they too can apply it in their own parenting practices.  They and their children can benefit.
But don't think I'm dislocating my shoulder by patting myself on the back.  I also listen to what other parents have to say, and then apply it verbatim or modify it. 
We need to work together as partners in building a better society.
Because parents need to do more stepping up...and less stepping out.


NEXT WEEK:  Promises, promises