As parents we wonder if we have given our children the tools they need to survive when they venture out into the world. We know that we cannot be there to protect them 24 hours a day 7 days a week, so whatever guidance and education we give the hope is that they will use that knowledge as they grow and gain their independence. As parents, how I knew we were on the right track with our children is when we would go to parent-teacher conferences and they would talk about how respectful our kids were and what pleasure they were to have in class. My wife and I would look at each other as if to say, “Are they talking about my child?” It was then I knew that the values we instilled in our children were having an impact. They were presenting to the world the way we taught them with dignity.
Over the past month I have received some positive feedback about my three children. They were random and unsolicited. There is no prouder moment for a parent then those moments when some walks up to you and says, “Are you Anthony’s father, or Dakota’s father, or Cassandra’s father?” and I would say yes and what would follow is the person telling me about the positive interaction they had with them. These are proud moments as a parent to know that your children are putting out good in the world and that in their own way they are making a difference.
I have come to understand my role as a parent. It took me awhile but slowly I began to understand that my role is to raise good people who I hope will live their lives with dignity and give back to a world that has given them so much. As a parent I have to set that example. I must outline the standards of what it means to be a person who honors and elevates dignity. I have had both failures and successes, but I have learned from my failures, and I have not rested on my successes. I keep moving forward so that I can be the parent my children need me to be.
The hardest thing I have found is that I must allow them to make mistakes. I want to fix everything for them, but I know I can’t. I am there for them not with an, “I told you so or you should have listen to me.” I am there with a hug or a shoulder to cry on and advice which I hope will get them through their challenges.
My greatest hope is that I can be to my children what my mother was to me and my brothers. I know that if I am half the parent that she was I will be ok. I hope that they will be a beacon of light and have a positive impact on all the people they encounter in their lives. That would make me most proud as a father.
“Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation.” Nelson Mandela
This is dedicated to all those who help strengthen the rocks and foundations of our future.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 