We get back to the blog this evening after another short hiatus.  Adjusting to the summer schedule is taking longer than I thought.  Look for more updates this week as time allows.

Today was yet again Father's Day.  Many people may not see it as a complicated day but it can happen in our current state.  Not everyone has a pleasant experience on this holiday but mine did go well.  I finished the day watching a documentary on the 41st President George H. W. Bush.  Critics were not kind to the man for years but there is more respect coming his way with each passing day.  He left office with an approval rating around 30%.  That rating is now up around the 70% mark.  Not everyone would yet be in agreement with all of his decisions but less question how he lives his life.  This is a man who even became friends with the person who defeated him for the White House in 1992.  You can count on one hand anyone with that much dignity.

The historian side of me is amazed at the character of George Bush.  Here is a guy who is a war hero, congressman, ambassador, Vice President and then President.  It may be some time before we elect another leader with all of the qualities.  But it is also that personal nature of the man that captures the real attention.  He is a man with grace under fire.  He knows the pain of setbacks yet continues to reach forward with optimism.  He is an imperfect person but recognizes that with humility.  He may not be a saint but he also may come as close as one gets in this ugly day and age. 

He jumped out of an airplane this past week to mark his 90th birthday.  Maybe go back and read that sentence once again.  Jumping in tandem with a trained skydiver seems an odd way to celebrate another year of life.  My point is we can go on about such stuff for a long time but it is the family that speaks volumes here.  Age brings a certain grace as you move along.  A legacy becomes balanced between the good and the bad things in life.  You learn what really counts in this world.  Could it be possible that this is one of the reasons for a Father's Day?  We can stop to weigh our achievements with our opportunity to be a father.  Do we matter at the one place it counts most?

I would love to tell you that my experience of being a dad is without flaw or error.  That would be a tad over evaluating my life.   But my hope is that I did try.  Being a father is not something to take lightly.  Some accused me of being too much there with or for my children.  Such words never bother me.  It's not something too many guys have to deal with being a dad.  None of us ever do it perfectly.  But too few of us try as much as possible.  My greatest joy is life is being a father even though mine are now older.  Jumping out of a plane doesn't scare me as much as not being my best for my children.  I absolutely need God's help for that to happen.  I know how God has to work in me so He can work through me.  That happening means that even if fame doesn't come my way I at least know to be faithful. That will always be good enough for me.

Bro. Trey