My Dad

Every once-in-awhile I read something that speaks to my heart. Things that impact me the most casue me to reflect on my own life and journey. And they often come from the most unlikely sources.

That happened to me yesterday when I read Tom Stern's blog article titled, Wikipedia/Life Balance. Tom writes a regular comic strip and blog titled CEO Dad that explores work/life balance.

A little background to this article is in order. You may have read in the news that some prominent politicians and civic leaders have been accused of altering their own Wikipedia entries. For those who are unfamiliar, Wikipedia is a collaborative, online encyclopedia that covers millions of topics. Wikipedia prides itself on seeking to be fair and balanced in its coverage of a topic. To rewrite your Wikipedia entry is equivalent of trying to rewrite history.

So Tom Stern began to reflect on why we are so concerned about what others say about us. And more importantly, what do those close to use think about us. And what would they write about us if invited to do so. I will let Tom explain it from here.

This got me thinking: how might a dispassionate third party (in this case, I suppose, a “Wiki”), describe me this Internet depository of facts? And, as the royal couple discovered, it is bad form to tweak your own Wikipedia entry. Then I came up with an interesting idea, one that might be instructive for all of us as a work/life balance exercise, and one that directly involves a loved one.

Ask your children (or a young person close to you if you have not yet been blessed with progeny) to compose your Wikipedia bio. When I ran this project by my 11-year-old daughter, here is what I got in my in box:

THANKS TO MOMMY FOR SOME BIG WORDS SHE HELPED ME WITH AND SOME SPELLING.

Tom Stern is an American businessman and my daddy. He does a lot of stuff I don’t really understand. He has this cartoon character named CEO DAD that is kind of like him, except not. In one of the cartoons, the dad tells his youngest child that if she does well at school, he will promote her to first born. I do not get why this is funny, but the grown ups laugh about it. Also, in one cartoon the dad makes nametags for his kids so he can remember who the heck they are. My dad actually did that once, but he promised me it was a joke.

TOM’S EARLY LIFE
Dad grew up in New York, and so my grandparents talk like they are from somewhere else. I love my grandparents, but sometimes I hear Dad talking to Mommy about how they brought him up with unreasonable expectations. I don’t know what that means, and it is one of the things I needed Mommy to help me spell.

HIS MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Dad talks on the phone all day, and he gets all crazy sometimes telling people about deals and money, but if I talk to my friends for even, like, a second, he says I shouldn’t talk so long on the phone! Nice one, Dad! So, I don’t really know what my Dad does, but he keeps telling me it paid for my braces. I wish I saw my daddy more because when I see him we laugh and play a lot. But that is his own fault if he wants to be such a grown-up dopey-head and miss out on playing and fun stuff.

HIS LEGACY
One time we were driving in the car, and Dad heard a song come on the radio from when he was little. He said it was by someone named Harry Chapin, and it was called “The Cat’s In The Cradle.” He pulled the car over to listen to it and sing along, and then I had to give him a Kleenex to blow his nose. He said it always happens when he hears that song, it makes him feel congested.

Oh, well. He is my dad, and I love him even if he gets a stuffy nose when he hears dumb songs on the car radio.

THE END.

Kouzes and Posner write in A Leader's Legacy that each of us, whether we intend to or not, will become at some point a character in someone's story. We all talk about people when they're not around, and others will talk about us when we're not around. The obvious question is, What will they say?