From Living It Daily

Maybe I’m just paying closer attention this year. Maybe I’m just in a reflective mood. Maybe I’m just getting older and contemplating a lot of things from my past that I appreciate or regret. Whatever the case, there just seems to be more being said about fathers this year as we approach the day set aside to recognize and/or celebrate fathers.

Honestly, I don’t watch that much TV anymore, but I have seen more commercials in my intermittently short times in front of the TV talking about fathers than I remember seeing in a long time. It has been interesting the way they have presented ways of remembering our fathers, and I have been moved to reflect on those I consider father figures in my own life.

Now, read or hear this to know that I understand your experiences may not have been like mine. You may have had a father who was absent from your life or one who didn’t treat you right. You may have even been abused. Believe me when I tell you this: my heart goes out to you.

You see, I grew up in Southern Illinois. I left there when my parents moved us to Southwest Florida when I was eleven. Even though that seems like a very short time in someone’s life, I have a lot of memories from that time, and most of them are very fond memories.

I was blessed to be in a family where most of us lived within twenty miles of each other. We often spent time together. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins  often had family gatherings at the parks or lakes near us for picnics or weekend camping trips and the like. Many a Sunday was spent with us all gathered for Sunday dinner at my grandparents and all of us had great times together. We all got together for the holidays like Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Those were filled with some of my fondest memories of my childhood.

But they weren’t the only memories I have of those days. There were many times my grandpa, my uncle, and I went fishing and did other things together. There was also baseball in the summer, snow in the winter, and springtime with all the leaves coming back on the trees, the flowers blooming, and just the general sights and fragrances of them all. I remember all of these things with fondness, and they often bring a smile to my face.

So you see, what I remember most about growing up in those first eleven years of my life is that all the men in my family were fathers, and they kind of showed me at an early age what good fathers did and were to their families. All of us were raised as parts of their families, too.

My dad’s dad worked with heavy equipment in highway construction. My mom’s dad was an accountant. One of my uncles worked in the coal mines, and the other worked for the telephone company, and my dad worked on cars and later in electronics repair. They all worked hard, handled different hardships and still took the time to be present in their individual families. I had good examples of what fathers were and could be.

As I grew older and entered the workforce myself, I was thankful for the example the fathers in my family set for me. I grew up with a strong work ethic and was confident that I could do whatever the jobs required in the different areas where I was employed. I learned much of that from my earthly father and the other fathers closely associated with our family.

I was also blessed to have other men in my life whom I considered father figures, and I learned a lot from them. One of them I worked with for fifteen years, and he taught me a lot about life and the job I was working at the time, which was head mechanic in a bowling alley. Other than my own dad, he probably taught me the most about many things I would face as I became a father myself. Of course, one of the most important influences was my Pastor, Dan Betzer. I sat under his leadership and teaching for over thirty years, and I am still learning from his influence in my life as a man and a father.

Today, I have two daughters and five grandchildren. Although I know I wasn’t the perfect father, I did try very hard to be the best father I could be, even though I was learning to be a father and parent on the fly. I’m reminded of a statement I heard long ago. Since I became a father over forty years ago, it has stuck with me, and I have never forgotten it. It goes something like this: “I don’t know why, but God chose to give the job of parenting to rank amateurs. But that’s exactly what He did.”

Of course, I can’t leave this without noting that even those without the examples I had growing up can still become great fathers — sometimes that means finding your own mentors along the way, the way I found mine. The job of being a father is not easy. I understand that more now than I ever did, but I am very thankful for the fathers who influenced me and, little by little, showed me how to be a father, and that’s the best gift anyone can receive.

Hey, this is Russ and I’m still Living It Daily… See ya next time…

All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer

© June 21, 2026 – all rights reserved

Rusty Norman, LivingItDaily.com

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