Turning in to my dad

There was a time in my life where I never thought I would be like my parents. There was no way I would be so "uncool". As a matter of fact, when I had kids I would be the coolest parent on the block. Kids would flock to my house to play at Mr. Reece's house because he was the coolest. Years later, I realize that I am so much like my parents, especially my dad, that it is comical that those thoughts ever crossed my mind. (pretty sure that was a runon sentence). I can remember weekends with my dad where he and I would listen to "oldie goldies" on the radio on Saturday nights. The music was okay, but I wanted to listen to cool stuff like Poison, Whitesnake, Michael Jackson, or any other current group. I always wondered why he listened to such crap! Now, I'm stuck in the '80's when it comes to music. I bought XM radio for the "luxury" of always having an '80's station. I'm sure one day my sons will wonder why I listen to such "crap".
I can remember my dad trying so hard to teach me about money, manners, respect for others, chores.....basically everything I try to drive home to my own kids nowadays. I don't do it to be like my dad, I do it because that's who I am. And you know what.....I wouldn't want to be any other way. I can thank my parents, especially my dad (males always look to their fathers for influence), for shaping my values. I believe they're rock solid. It wasn't always so easy....I rebelled, tried to "explore" other ideas.....but I always came back to my roots. Again, I wouldn't want to be any other kind of man. We're definitely not mirror images of one another, but the foundation was laid long ago when I was clueless it was being done.
I'll leave you with a story. Last week my wife and I took our oldest son on a mini-vacation to the beach. The baby stayed with the grandparents. On our way to the beach, my son came down with a stomach virus......in the car in the middle of a 6 hour drive. Not fun to say the least. We arrived in Florida at 2am. I was beat from a long month at work. BUT, my boy was sick. So at 3am I find myself at Walgreens looking for some medicine to help him....along with some extra items added by my wife. My eyes burned from being so tired, but I didn't care. It was my son.....I would lay down my life for him. Going to the store in the middle of the night was nothing. As I drove back to the condo, I was reminded of all the times my dad took care of me in similar ways, and other ways I'm sure I still don't even know about. He never missed a highschool football game....even when it meant he would get home at 4 in the morning. I HOPE I'm turning in to my dad.....because if I am, I think my boys will be okay.
I'll sign off for now, but not before I listen to one of those '80's songs!

David