April 10, 2021

"Hey, Dad, I was just wondering if you wanted to go outside and toss around... the..."

Tragi-comic TikTok:
@devon_palmer

Play catch

♬ original sound - devon palmer


FROM THE EMAIL: Doug writes: 

I just watched the video which you posted about the son practicing his delivery to his father and his father practicing his delivery as well. 

My wife died from a rare variation of lymphoma six years ago. Our daughter had just turned nine. My wife and I had agreed how to manage her absence in our daughter’s daily life, so I dropped my hours to part time and accepted the associated 40 percent salary reduction. (I’m grateful to my former employer for allowing me to reduce my hours and keep my job. They were brilliant.) 

As a result, I was available to my daughter when she wanted to be with me. We had already paid off the mortgage, so the income reduction didn’t threaten our security. However, money became tighter and there are activities and objects which I can’t afford anymore. I wondered many times if I made the right decision. 

This video confirms that the decision was correct. I hate to think of my daughter being in that poor boy’s situation. I feel much better. Thanks for posting the video.

Whenever you make an important decision, you create potential for regret, whichever way you go. But when you choose to be a great father, you are spared the terribly painful regret that this video would inspire if you'd gone the other way. 

I imagine most people watching on TikTok are young, so maybe this video will inspire some fathers who still have the chance to make the right choice. 

For men more my age, you might have been inspired by this pop song: