The Most Important Thing . . .
OK dads, be honest, have you ever let your desire to watch a football game, go fishing, or not miss that poker game get in the way of being with your child?
My children are out of our house now, and I have been able to reflect upon when they were living with us. I am amazed how I was so unaware of time passing by; it was as if I thought they would always be around, always with us. With this mindset, it was easy for me to get caught up in a book I was reading, or a televised game, all the while not recognizing the golden opportunity to instead interact with my two children.
Now, I must warn you, don’t be that guy – put your child or children first – there will be plenty of times when, after they are gone, you can read that book or watch that game. You have the responsibility and, more importantly, the opportunity to teach your child what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and good about life.
Seize the moment, as it is very fleeting!
Children need you to read with them, to learn from, to play with, and to build their confidence and self esteem – don’t let them down.
The most important thing, and the message of this website is simple – be there for your kids!
Everything was wrong. The antiseptic smells, the bedside table, the pull around curtain and the pajamas. I had never seen my grandfather in pajamas. I had never seen him so thin and so helpless. He was always the strong one with big hands, a big smile and a high-pitched laugh. There in the assisted living facility not only was he out of his environment but he wanted to rid himself of life itself. He was being redefined in ways he couldn’t fathom or believe. 
In the fall of 1958 I was born into this world as a ten pound baby boy to two recently married teens. Perhaps carrying forward the spirit of their times my parents and I have never really talked about the circumstances regarding their pregnancy, dropping out of school, getting married and starting a young family in rural southwestern Michigan. Times have changed. The majority of pregnant teens in the late 1950s married their partners. That is not the case today. Thousands of boys still become parents but instead of marriage most of these young men become nonresidential fathers who must negotiate child support and child visitation. Contrary to popular belief, these young men are often emotionally and physically involved in relationships with their partner and child. But without support and guidance from adults, these relationships often deteriorate in the first year of the child’s life. 
The Colorado Men Against Domestic Violence Pledge Initiative is growing by leaps and bounds! The last thirty days has resulted in over 400 additional pledges. Most of the new pledges are hand written pledge cards from City and County of Denver employees. Several others and myself have been entering these by hand on our online pledge page. With each name and pledge I enter I am tossed between excitement and despair.