father hood: prince of thieves

is there a certain trait or preference that you have that you can directly link or have taken from your parents?

for instance, i love movies (as you can already tell from some of my postings). my mom used to take me on fridays during opening night. it wasn't as much for my benefit, but rather her love for cheesy action flicks. think: jean claude van damme and steven seagal. yes - that was MY mom. she was so into the impossible and overdramatic stories. but it was awesome remembering how much she enjoyed seeing something so over the top. one thing that i loathe is when people come out of movies blurting out, "oh my God, that was SOOOO UNREALISTIC". look - we live in reality. one of the main reasons i watch a movie is to see something i CAN'T do myself or i wish could happen to me. who wouldn't want a love story similar to serendipity or fight crime in a mysterious bat suit? when my mom and i exited the theater, she rarely came out hating a movie. i certainly felt the same way and still do now.

for my father, i've mentioned before that he has a personality that is very welcoming and magnetic. he cracks jokes and makes everyone feel comfortable. i certainly feel i do the same. in high school, i joined the tennis team in my sophomore year (i didn't make it the first time around). i was ranked 9th out of 12....which basically meant i was horrible and hardly played. the coach chose two captains: the #1 guy and... me. i thought she was trying to be nice and give me a confidence boost. Prior to graduating 2 years later, i asked her why she ever made me captain in the first place. she said, "i noticed your interactions with everyone on the team. not just the varsity or junior varsity members, but you were talking to the freshmen as well. on a player level, you made them feel comfortable and motivated them in ways i couldn't. being #1 doesn't always mean you're a born leader. your teammates follow you because you simply TALK to them. when you speak, your words don't fall on deaf ears. coaches and captains are rarely the best player on a team... but they are the ones that command the most respect."

her words resonated with me. interacations. leader. respect. i had never really thought much about it, but much my personality is a direct link to my father. it wasn't something that was taught or given, but rather just the influence i absorbed over the years. i 'stole' something from my dad without even knowing it....not that it was a bad thing to take.

HM and i are approximately 17 weeks away from bringing a child into this world. what do i have that i can offer him/her? what will he/she 'take' from their father? it's truly a scary thought...and my mind races more as the due date approaches closer. i guess this is supposed to be a natural feeling, but it's still new to me. but just like anything i've ever encountered before, this feeling shall also pass.

-EM