Portland Swing Dance Club

For those who have not heard through the grapevine yet, my wife and I are expecting our first child in September. We are very excited and appreciate everyone’s support and wishes. As Jennilyn and I prepare to be parents, we have talked about how our parents have raised us. We’re both very thankful for our parents in how they support and love us.

I discovered a new appreciation for my mom during the summer before I started college. While I was working as an assistant manager to a used-appliance store, I recognized how much my mom cared for me when she would visit me for lunch and bring me some food for the day. I usually packed a lunch, but she would bring something much more appetizing. I was also lonely at the store since I would get an average of five people walking through the store each day. My mom would bring my grandma and keep me company for my lunch hour.

If I looked back throughout my childhood, most of my mom’s free time was consumed by helping others. Whether it was making treats for them, doing yardwork, grocery shopping, moving—my mom always lended a helping hand. She set a great example, but also recruited me to help as I got older. At first, I often did not respond enthusiastically when I was asked to help someone I didn’t know, but in obedience, I learned to help others without asking for anything in return. The compassion she had to help others has helped me appreciate club members who volunteer for dance admissions or bringing snacks to the dances. Their tasks appear to be little things, but those volunteers make a world of difference in making our dances more hospitable and friendly.

I was enrolled in a geometry class in middle school and I was learning how to solve proofs. I would not have done as well as I did if my dad hadn’t checked over my homework every night after he got off work at two in the morning. I would leave my homework on our dinner table and in the morning, I would have notes about on my errors. My dad’s help not only helped me excel in math but I came to enjoy working out mathematical proofs. I’m thankful for my dad’s contribution to my problem-solving skills.

While I was courting Jennilyn, she was very ill and could not drive herself places. We would go out for a date on Wednesdays and the weekends. Jennilyn’s mom drove her to weekly doctor appointments throughout our courtship. When Jenni was feeling well enough, her mom drove her the forty-five minute commute to my apartment during the day so I could hang out with her before driving her home for the evening. She is a super-mom.

On one particular Wednesday evening, Jenni and I had planned to go out for dinner. Unfortunately, she was not well enough to travel, so we canceled our plans to go out and just hung out at her house in Battle Ground. When I arrived at her parents’ house, their dining room was nicely arranged with a table for two, candles, tablecloths, cloth napkins, and a centerpiece. Jennilyn’s mom and dad gave us a special date night in their home while the rest of Jennilyn’s family ate in the basement on fold-out card tables.

I have no idea what it is going to be like raising a child of my own. Perhaps years down the road I’ll hear from my children of the mistakes I’ve made, mischief they got away with, video games they loved, and hopefully life lessons learned from dance. Most of all, I hope they will always know how much their mom and dad loved them.

Have a Happy Mother’s and Father’s Day!