Vigilant Silver Fox

Father’s Day…it is a day of honoring and praising dads.  BUT,  there is a generation of men who need recognition for helping to change fatherhood as an active integral part of daily family life. Some of these men did not have a blueprint to follow for the evolving family life that required a partnership in all aspects of the marriage. The women of their generation wanted partners in family life, not a division of labor.  Women sought higher education and wanted both a professional and a personal life like their male colleagues. It was tough on couples who watched television shows that depicted the father as “king of his castle,” or a “bumbling buffoon” who is tricked by his “intelligently coy wife.”  stereotyping was embedded early. The “Baby Boomers” have a high divorce rate and a much has been attributed to it. Personally, the changing face of the roles in a marriage and women’s desires to have a partner and not another person to clean up after may have been another underlini

        June is not only the month of brides. It also is full of graduates. Two of my children completed their undergraduate courses., giving us  the joy of attending their commencements. Attending a “Commencement Ceremony” is different from a graduation or is it?   Commencement ~ what does that word mean?   According to WORD’s trusty Thesaurus, it means “beginning or graduation.”         Graduation on the other hand means “advancement, ceremony, mark, or calibration.”  This definition is interesting, to me.   A graduation seems to be something that happens.  It is an event.         Commencement on the other hand has the implication of impetus.  A commencement moves one on in life.  You see that is my hope for my both children.  They are both extremely capable, well-rounded individuals.  The key word is individuals.  Each has picked a different path to complete their higher education. Each worked through their college experience.  One stayed in state and the other wanted an out-