Here’s to Dad

Dear Readers: Happy Fathers Day! In this poem, William Wordsworth celebrates being able to see the world through his son’s eyes. He celebrates the childlike wonder that his son has, a playful curiosity that is too often lost in adulthood.

Anecdote for Fathers

Dear Annie: I am writing to tell you my story about adopting a child and hope it will help others. Back in the 1980s, my wife and I were unable to have children. So, with much thought, we decided to adopt.

Back then, our state had what they called “semiclosed” adoptions — only medical information was divulged. When we submitted our stories, our caseworker went through them to redact any identifying information. Those stories, along with other information, were part of our file. Our files were given to the birthmothers. They would go through the stack of files to make their choice of parents for their child. When we submitted the stories, our caseworker told us that it’s just a waiting game, and that it could be another two or three years.

To our surprise, we got the call only two weeks later. A baby boy! We couldn’t believe it! I asked our caseworker why so soon. She confessed that, after she read my story, she thought we would be picked quickly. She explained that birthmothers aren’t looking for mothers; they are looking for fathers. They look for adoptive fathers who had a good relationship with their fathers. I’ve never forgotten that and tried to spend as much time with him and my other sons as I could. Please, dads, spend as much time as you can with your children.

Dear Forever Grateful Dad: Bravo! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there