This one photo says everything you need to know about what it means to be a great parent.
It’s a photo of my father—taking notes during one of my talks at an event in India.
He is 68 years old and a tenured professor at Harvard Univesity. He has accomplished a tremendous amount in his career—but I am certain he is most proud of who he is as a father and husband.
Throughout my entire life, he has shown up for me:
From cheering at my baseball games, to surprising me at the finish line of my first marathon, and now to sitting and listening diligently as I deliver talks.
He is there as a supporter—my biggest fan—and a trusted partner, someone who I can count on to shoot me straight with thoughtful feedback.
He has always had high standards for me, but they were always paired with high support to match.
He always encouraged me to think bigger, and then offered his shoulders to stand on to reach those bigger things.
This photo is an example of who he is and the values he holds dear.
At the end of one of my on stage talks, he was asked by the moderator how he feels seeing me on stage:
“I’m proud that he is becoming the man he wants to be.”
It hit me hard.
Not “the man I want him to be” but “the man that HE wants to be”—a subtle but beautiful difference.
It comes full circle, because he is the father I want to be—and the man I want to be.
Here’s to all the parents out there who are lifting their children up with love, encouragement, honesty, and unrelenting support.
I salute you—and I admire you.
And to my Dad—I love you!
Supreme Court textualism is killing logical statutory interpretation. That’s bad when it comes to environmental laws. But it’s especially bad when the subject of the statute is supposed to stop the killing of actual people, says @NoahRFeldman https://t.co/ZgjMdd5HyL via @opinion
@TheEricBarela "You won’t find the widow or the little welcomer in the headlines or in our political leadership. But they are more real and more powerful than Trump, Biden and Washington combined. Daily virtues are eternal, as are our Declaration’s self-evident truths."