Because it really is a wonderful life

Merry Christmas everyone! It’s a wonderful time of year, especially for family, and especially when you’re a dad. Sure, it’s fraught with stress and worry, but that’s usually something to do with wanting to bring joy to everyone you love. And once Christmas Day rolls around, you can relax, celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord, pray with the family, and then gather around the table. Until then, it’s rush, rush, rush, like last night. As soon as I got home, I had to go out again to go buy our tree, Then when I got back with it, I found out that our current tree stand was too small, so it was back out into the night again. After searching three stores, I found a stand hidden on a top shelf at Walgreen’s.

Anyway, Christmas is such a good time to demonstrate what it means to be a father, and so it’s fun to see that the Art of Manliness blog presents us with lessons in manliness from that qintessential Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

I’ll list the high points here and you can go to their site for all the expansion and explanation:

 
• Be a hero where you stand

 

• Treat women well

 

• Live your family/family fidelity

 

• Facilitate others’ success

 

• Stand up for what is right

 

• Know your faults and correct them

 

• Live your life with gratitude

To add my own spin on one of those is that you don’t have to be extraordinary to be a hero. The vast majority of men will lead ordinary lives, going to work every day, managing limited finances, loving their wives and children, going to church, being a good friend, maintaining their homes. Some men will fly to the moon or save people from burning buildings—which is an extraordinary heroism for which I’m grateful—but the rest of us have the opportunity for a quiet heroism recognized by only a few.

And so on this Christmas Eve, I think the greatest gift I can ever receive is the love and appreciation from my children and especially my beautiful wife. Because it really is a wonderful life.