Go Ask Dad's Gratitude List
I’m writing this gratitude list with a lovely pen that was given to me at a law firm. The owners are friends and parents of a kid in my children’s elementary school. Surely, they are the butt of an occasional lawyer joke, but they are whip-smart, open-hearted leaders. And this is a fabulous gel pen!
I’m writing in my Ted Lasso journal, gifted by my wife on Father’s Day. The mustachioed hero grins on the cover. The show was our favorite, worth staying up to watch after we got the kids to sleep (finally). She smiled after I unwrapped the journal: “You think you can fill it up?” There are 144 pages. Maybe by next Father’s Day.
Our pet, the house wolf, dozes on the couch. She came to us from a rescue almost two years ago. On our daily morning walk, she sniffs every fire hydrant and sign post. Occasionally, I get a whiff of something to write back in the house; sometimes it becomes this particular column.
This brings me to this point: I’m grateful for the WRAL Family. This includes editors like Kathy, Jodi and Jessica, who work behind the scenes (and on computer screens), as well as my fellow writers. I’ve been moved to tears about stories of loved ones in wars overseas and with Alzheimer’s here at home, spurred to action on issues like school safety and climate change, and even tackled some of life’s thorniest questions like, What the heck do I do with all this freaking Halloween candy?!
I’m grateful for the Go Ask Dad readers – all two of you. (Hi, Mom!) Seriously, many of you have reached out with notes of appreciation and also your insights. I’ve learned from your different perspectives, and while we may not always see a particular topic in the same light, we are illuminated by the joy of parenting. I’m grateful, so grateful, and … oh, excuse me …
I’m back now. My youngest kids had tromped downstairs. I did not allow them to use my fabulous gel pen in order to scribble on Ted’s mustache. But I did laugh as my son claimed, “Bruh, I can burp on command,” and my daughter shrieked, “Command!”
Oh, yes, I am grateful for so much.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of Little Big Moments, a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems. Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
