csstrux

This is excellent


Can I Borrow $25? _

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to
find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a ques tion?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a
thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you
make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that
is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some
other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your
room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so
selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish
frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the
little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions
only to get some money?

After abou t an h our or so, the man had calmed down , and
started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with
that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often
The man went to the door of the little boy's room and
opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier'
said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my
aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you
daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he
pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get
angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then
looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the
father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little
boy replie d.

'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?
Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have
dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little
son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard
in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers
without having spent some time with those who really
matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to
share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.
_
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for
could easily replace us in a matter of hours_. But the
family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for
the rest of their lives.

This has been circulating through my email box on and off for some time. I thought I might share.

wolfman98

not only that but sometimes life passes you by and suddenly your 50 + you have your house your cars and big boy toys , how about the love of your kids or brothers and sisters. did you take the time to get to know your parents before they are gone? I left home at 18 and moved 3000 miles away and even when I came back a few years ago I never spent enough time getting to know my dad. Not until he got sick with cancer did it dawn on me that I did not really understand him . The last few months of his life I decided it was time to reach out and let him know how much I loved him and how much I appreciated the values that he instilled in me when I was growing up. He broke down and cried ( the first time I ever saw him cry) and told me that I had always made him proud and that he too was sorry that he never told me that before. At the end I went to visit him saturday morning , he woke up when I sat on the edge of his bed. He looked at me and said for the first time , my god the pain is too much. I went out to get the nurse to give him a shot for the pain. After he asked me to help him sit up in bed because he had no strength. he weighed less that 100 lbs. at that point. I sat beside him and gave him a hug , we talked for a few minutes and after the pain killer took effect I laid him back down so he could take a nap then told him I would be back the following morning. he passed away around 4 A.M. that next day. I got the call from my sister who was staying with my mom , I hopped in the van and went to pick them up to go to the hospital. before we left I kissed him on the forehead and wispered in his ear , I hope I will always make you proud dad. I miss him and there is so much more I wanted to talk about.I guess what I am trying to say is don't wait to love your family because that is one thing that they will always be and my mom is almost 81 now but I see her almost everyday. She is still going strong and lives in her house alone , but my 69 Olds is in her garage so I can work on the car and spend time with her. Hopefully she will live to 100 but you never know and that is why I am there for her now.

Graniteman

You guys are both right; the truly important things in life are the children.
I'm a real late bloomer in the daddy dept., I had my one and only child when I was 48, now she's 4. I think that's the way it was meant to be as I'm sure I wouldn't have handled fatherhood nearly as well when I was younger. Still learning every day though! Here's a picture of my little sweetheart Ella.............................

Olds64

My wife and I have a baby girl on the way. She is due the last week of April / first week of May. Her name will be Caitlin Rose. I will post pics once she is here. I hope I can give her a ride home from the hospital in the Olds.

csstrux

What a doll These are my two, Amanda, and Erin, last summer. I was working on something on the truck, and the kids thought it looked like a fun place to play....until I fire it up., Though the oldest rides along from time to time. Summer of '07 I was home pretty much every day by 4. Life was good then, Now we are going farther afield to get our bread, so they can't come along right now. Hopefully things change soon.

Eric Anderson

Hey Chad and G-man, cute little ones you have there, congrats olds 64, I've got a little girl coming in june myself, little nervous about a teenage daugter (already) but at least she'll have a big bro to chase all the boys away

csstrux

The biggest problem I have had so far is trying to be balanced and fair with discipline. Both seem to be afflicted with the same lack of focus that their dad has. Both are very brite, and incredibly stubborn, but trying to teach them self reliance or focus is like pulling teeth. Deciding when corporal discipline is appropriate, and necessary...well. We try to be consistent, and they are both in a preschool that deals heavily in focus challenged (read hyper) kids now so that should help. I used to take Amanda with me on the truck, so they both could get one on one attention, and that seemed to help quite a bit. The best defence against the problems teens face today, as near as I can figure is to 1) Love them LOTS 2) don't be afraid to discipline them when needed, but only when needed 3) lead by example. Sometimes the frustrations, and fears of trying to support them (especially being one of the evil self employed) with little for a safety net, the temptation to scream or overreact when they get into things that they shouldnt( read break something, or themselves) can be overwhelming. You will learn things about yourself that will scare the he(( out of you, but you WILL grow. You will see that growth reflected in your little ones. I think that is one of the greatest rewards of being a parent. I just noticed, you have a boy already, congrats, Linda and I would like to have one, but are starting to get used to not being hung on 24/7. If it happens anymore it will probably be an oops

csstrux

Congrats. Your first?

citcapp

All of you with young ones are in for a heck of a ride. My wife and I raised three boys now 39, 37, and 27. I too was self employeed for most of the time. Closed down my business 18 years ago to work for someone else, less strain. The kids were always my salvation when times were tough. Gave me reason to keep going, after all they are our future.

csstrux

I am hoping they will have most of their wild oats sown, by time they reach their teens, or at least have them too distracted to be too interested by the boys

Olds64

Caitlin Rose will be our first. I am a bit nervous about being a dad; however, I don't think it has hit full force yet. Oldsguy is looking forward to being a grandpa.

Actually, this post holds alot of truth for me. I want to make sure I get off on the right foot. The company I work for is letting me test the waters in a different department. So far the Testing Dept. is alot of work and I have worked the past two weekends. They say it is hectic right now because we are trying to finish some projects. I think they are going to try to lure me over to the dark side. I will have to have a long heart to heart with the wife if they do. I don't want to be a dad that is never at home.

csstrux

I'm not advocating absentee fatherhood by a long shot, but when we/ Linda had Amanda, I was physically in Salt lake on my way out to Frisco. I wont get into details, but Amanda was in the afternoon of her fourth day on in the world before I even started for home. By 10 am of her sixth, I had delivered in Green Bay and was sitting on the deck with her in my lap bawling like a little girl. I was supposed to get a week off, at least when she came into the world, but having just leased onto someone elses company, I did not have a lot of say. Needless to say, I was gone A LOT. Luckily my wife saw this coming and was OK with it. I was not. I think the biggest problem for me was guilt. Amanda came better that 2 weeks early, so I could not have forseen it, but to this day it bugs ME. Amanda has no grudges, all she knows is that Daddy loves her very much, and plays with her a lot when he is around, but daddy has to work so she has a place to stay, and food for her tummy. No one likes being away, but you have to do what you have to do. I look at it like this... A fathers primary responsibilities are 1) provide for the family. 2) Protect the family. These are interchangeable depending on the circumstances. 3) Be a teacher/disciplinarion, again depending on the circumstances 4) Caregiver. I think these are all important, but this is about how I prioritise my responsibilities and thus make decisions, sometimes against my better judgement, or personal wishes. I make no claim as to being a great, or even a good father, but I do the best job I know how to do, and there is a sharp learning curve. It would seem to me You have a good example in your father. That is a great place to start. I have found that church is a great resource as well. Personal oppinion...make the best use of the time you have with your family that you can. Do your best to be patient, and gracious. Lead by serving. Show your love to the whole family, even when you want to throw things,and scream (trust me...You will) and the absences will be forgotten. I'm sure you will be a good father

Lady72nRob71

I sure enjoyed reading this thread, despite it digging up a few bones from my past...

I grew up without a father and will most likely not ever be a father , so I sure enjoy seeing a good bonding between parents and children.

I find it too cute to see these little pictures around here of the little ones helping Dad work on the car. You all should post more of them! Regardless of the backgrounds, their big smiles are so captivating...

I give a huge CONGRATS to all the fathers and fathers-to-be and make sure you inject their little brains with the "Olds bug"!

And kids , be sure to take time out to spend time with your parents, because as mentioned, life is very much unpredictable.

I thought I may have had a chance to actually get to know my father, but he passed away at only 56 from heart failure. The most time I had ever spent with him was at his funeral, even though he lived only 10 miles away...

csstrux

I was thinking I should throw a qualifier in the last post. I felt so bad about missing the first that when Erin came along I did not accept any loads that could not be done and home that day. Needless to say I was home almost an entire month waiting for her to show up, expecting her to be even earlier than Amanda. She came 4 days before her due date. After that I did not accept a load for another 3 weeks. The funny thing is, to this day I am closer to my oldest. It's not a matter of playing favorites, we just click better. I guess this works out OK seeing as Erin seems to click better with her mom.

Rob I wouldn't write myself off yet, My uncle was in his fifties by time he got married. Sorry to hear about your dad. My relationship with my dad was strained at best, so I am trying to compensate with mine. I wish I could have done something different, or may be he wasn't so strained all the time, but what is...is. You deal with it and move on. At least he was there, especially if I really needed him. Luckily I still have time to develop a relationship with him, and some bridges have been built over the last ten years or so.


Got sidtracked while writing this and left it unfinished.

The point I was driving at is basicly this...The quality of the time spent with your little ones will mean so much more to them than the amount of time, or even what you are doing. The happiest memory that comes to my mind regarding my dad is being it the back of his beat up old 66 pickup, loading cinderblocks to go up north. I might have been 11. It was late and I was cold tired and drenched cause it was raining like a bear. One of those storms they would blame on global warming today. I hurt all over, cause I was a puss, but grand pa was there, and my unkle and we were all together working for the family, and spirits were high. At least thats the way I remember it. that in my mind means so much more than shiny baubles or tons of time being half heartedly ignored.

wolfman98

The one thing that I learned growing up was to be a good listener. This was due wholely to my mother who was an elementary school teacher.My father was the quiet type and the one who was the disiplinarian. Growing up the kids were afraid of punishment from our father , though we were only spanked at young ages and only when it was appropriate.His biggest downfall was his inability to communicate with his children. We were all closer to mom because you could go to her and talk about anything. Being a teacher gave her the great ability to talk to us and understand some of the problems kids face growing up. What I learned from her was to be able to talk to my son ( now 17 ) about drinking and smoking pot and now that he has a steady girlfriend , about sex. All of us as parents have gone through the same things that our kids are facing. Preaching to them about how bad it is to try alcohol or drugs as a teen is an unrealistic expectation. For instance last night I talked to him and he was still hung-over from the party the night before. He drove to the party but had made arrangements to spend the night so he would not drive. I knew about the party before hand and talked to the older sister of the freind where the party was happening. She was 25 and her parents knew about it and told her to chaperone , when I talked to her I said that everyone who drove to the party had to give her the keys or they did not get in.She thought it was a great idea and from talking to my son he said that only 2 cars left and they were parents picking up their kids.Too many parents alienate their kids by trying the lock and key approach but that will fail more often than not because you cannot watch them 24-7. If you try they will turn against you , all you can do is try to relate your own experiences growing up. Just having their attention is a great start towards communicating with them throughout their lives. Do not judge them for their mistakes because we all make them , but if they know you are there to give them good advice and just listen to them they will consider you as more than a parent but as a freind which is the best relationship you will have. Most of us learned a lot of lessons growing up , it is what is supposed to make us wiser as we grow old. The best thing we can do for our children is to tell them about the mistakes we made and how we would have done it different given the chance. It is up to your kids to make these decisions and at least they will have better information that we did.Talking is the key , not yelling or screaming cause they will just tune you out. If I did not have my mom to talk to I may have turned out a lot different , it is something I will never know. One thing I do know is that I hated never being able to talk to my dad even as I got older , that is why I will always be there to talk to my son. The most amazing thing with our relationship is that at the end of every phone call he always says " I love you ". Something my father never told me and so it was difficult for me to express it growing up and in my adult life. My son taught me how to do that.

Redog

Our boy is going to be 4 months old in a week.

Today him and I were watching HorsePower TV and it was a good show, they were tearing down an old 283 SBC and giving it a stock rebuild for one of the other shows. He was really into it.

Weather or not he's into cars, it really doesn't matter to me

Scotty B

I bought my 442 partly to have something I could bond with my son about. Today we won first place in our division ('71-'80) at our small local car show. The big trophy goes in his room, and it's "his" trophy. Perfect.DSC01015.jpg

Eric Anderson

Good to go Scotty, thats the way to do it. Nice little guy and nice car you have there.

wolfman98

Having him growing up interested in the same hobby is an excellent way to bond with your son. Crongrats on the trophy your wheels deserved it from what I can see.

mike's88

Just 1 word. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing this.