“Fathers send their sons to college either because they went to college or because they didn’t.”
Last month, we celebrated Mother’s Day with a series of motherly quotes, so it’s only fitting that we celebrate Father’s Day by doing the same. All the dads in the audience deserve their fair gratitude too.
The quote above is attributed to one L.L. Henderson and it holds a great deal of truth. On the one hand, you have the fathers who were lucky enough to have received a college education. They understand the great value that higher education (and the college experience) can bring, and so they want their sons to be afforded the same advantages.
On the other hand, you have the fathers who did not go to college. Like my dad, they may have struggled as an immigrant to a new country, enduring great hardship to provide for their families. And they want what is best for their children, giving them every advantage that they themselves were not able to enjoy. They want their sons to do better in school than they ever did.
Indeed, all great fathers understand that their ultimate role is to help pave the way for future generations. Or, as Judy Fong Bates once wrote:
“The loving father often told his daughter: ‘The first generation plants the tree; the next generation enjoys the shade.'”
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, busy planting the seeds and sowing the fields so that future generations can reap the benefits. Oh, and for the record, that’s not me in the photo at the top. I was way cuter. 🙂
Now Michael are you disparaging the kid in the photo? Looks pretty cute to me.