From my Father, to Me. From me, to my son

Last thought as I go to bed- 

I want to share something with you all. 

My father was a great man, and I learned a lot from his example. I owe my sense of honor to him. My willingness to stand up for others, my respect for my mother, etc. I also learned to always tell my children "I love you", because you see, he never said that to me after a certain age. I resented the fact that everyone knew he was proud of me being in the army, except me. I never heard it from him. I heard about his pride from others, after he died. Therefore, I learned to let my children know I'm proud of them. I also had to learn some things the hard way. I didn't understand that my dad struggled with alcohol, that he was addiction-prone. He smoked cigarettes, and I started smoking about the age of 10. I have struggled with addictions and alcohol abuse and smoking....in some ways, I am like my father, only a little better. 

I have never hidden who I am from my children. I am very open about my past drug use, my struggles with alcohol....they've seen my mistakes. I've let them, so they could learn from  and hopefully avoid them.  I love each of them and I'm very proud of them all....but I want to focus on my son Chris, for just a moment.

I have asked ONE thing of my son, as he will tell you this is true. I told him "The only thing truly want from you, is for you to be better than me!" I am so proud of you, son. So much younger than I was, but so much wiser and already a better man than I. Thank you for who you have grown up to be. 

I love you.