Fatherhood essays

So this last week I volunteered to read some essays from an essay contest that was going around the public schools. I'll not state the name of the essay contest, or the organization that sponsored the deal. I'll just say that the contest involved reflections of kids' feelings towards their dads. Kids of all ages participated, and I read through two stacks of essays from 2nd and 3rd graders. I enjoyed them much more than I thought that I would.

Some of the things written were so good that I had to start writing stuff down. So I'm going to share some great things that the kids put in their essays. The theme was something to the effect of what my dad wants for me:

Accomplishments

• My dad wants me to have a big and smart brain
• My dad wants me to have awesome vacations
• My father dreams has dreams for me to be the best bowler that I can be...when I grow up I will be a better bowler than him
• My dad told me to own a hotel
• He tells me that I should do my best in school. I asked him why. He uses big words that i don't know

Vocational Aspirations

• He wants me to grow up and save people
• He told me to be a builder and make cool buildings everywhere
• My father thinks I can be the greatest president of the world
• He said I could be anything I want to be, like a truck driver or mechanic...
• My father's dream for me are to be smart. Then I could be a president.
• If I be a model, he stills wants me to eat good like fruits, and vegetables

Desires

• My father dreams that I will not make mistakes like he has made
• My dad dreams I will not fight
• My father said never to forget what he said to me
• He told me it is important not to talk while other people are talking because they might be talking of something important
• My dad wants me not to do drugs. This is important to me because if I do drugs I can die
• My dad said not to go to jail
• He wants me to meet a nice man that I can marry him and trust for my whole life
• My dad wants me not to touch fire
• He teaches me yoga and makes me stand on my head everyday
• My dad dreams that I brush my teeth so they won't be disgusting
• My father wants me to have fun because he doesn't want me to be bored
• He pays for my stuff
• He dreams that he can have fun with me and my kids someday

So I think that what I learned from reading all the essays is that kids really do pay attention. They're listening, and they are smart. The average 2nd grader is learning at a much quicker pace than the smartest MBA student at the University of Chicago. These kids are paying attention, and what their fathers say is very important to them.

One little girl talked about how good her dad is, even though he doesn't always keep his promises. Yea, those pinky promises are more binding than any legal document. During the press conference between the saturday sessions of general conference, the new apostle, Elder Christofferson, quoted someone as saying that to be trusted is better than to be loved. Kids deserve not only our love, but also our trustworthiness. They're also very funny at the same time!