17 years ago tomorrow I was in a bar in Singapore on a pay phone talking to my then wife while she was in labor... Just a short time later I was under water for the first of a three+ month underway. I never got to even hear his first cry... A child myself I would loiter around the radio room hoping to get a word... His weight... His height....whether she was okay... The message came in the form a few short sentences.. that ended with..mother and child are healthy and happy. Bitter sweetly I executed my responsibilities for five more months until I got to hold the boy in my arms. Years later through a divorce some of his sweetest moments were relayed through daily phone calls and annual visits until I finally got stationed stateside and eventually got out of the Navy. As you can probably tell I loved the Navy but not more than my kids. So for some years I got to be in his life. I got to be father I could be until I met Jill who helped teach me how to be the father I should have been. Tomorrow my son will be not much younger when I was a father. Im happy to say hes better than me when I was his age. Hes smarter. Hes way more responsible. Kinder. More comfortable in his skin. More aware of who he his. And yes like all fathers do I try to impress upon him the things I think I know... The things I should have done. I speak far too often to the man he will become rather than the young man he his. And the young man he his is so beautiful! So handsome and so strong. So to that boy I say I love you so desperately. To the world who reads this I proclaim I am the proud father of Isaiah Batkay who rattles the world with his laughter... Who inspires not only the people around him but inspires me to continue to try and be the father he deserves. Because, I dont deserve to be as blessed to have family like I have and a son like you! My son. Heres to 17 years of the constant reminder of love that you embody.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 23:00:19 +0000
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