Sources of Joy: Celebrating My Father’s Tears

Selecting the School activity since my last Notes from the Head that brought me the most joy is not easy. What a great problem to have. At the top of the list is a potential paradox: The most joyous scene was of my father, a veteran of the United States Navy, once again crying his way through the silent arches of American flags formed by our seventh graders in our fabulous Veterans Day celebration. Dad tried to say, “Thank You,” to the kids who were holding their small flags and smiling their big smiles and saying, “Thank you for your service,” to him and to many other vets in the “parade” down our halls, but dad’s words didn't make it too far before his 90-year-old voice cracked. I tried to say thank you for him, but his cracking voice was contagious.

Grown men crying can be cause for celebration. They are modeling real emotions for boys who are not always taught that physical and emotional hurt can be real and is okay to share. I certainly had that model from my dad; I hope I’ve passed it on. In this case, my joy was manifest: FWCD can be so proud of our celebration of veterans; Eric Lombardi can be so proud of his own dad’s service; and, my joy was mostly from the fact that my father felt so appreciated by each and every one of the students lining that Middle School hallway parade route. 

There were plenty of other sources of joy since my last Notes: We have hosted grandparents who were new to Fort Worth Country Day. They heard from six students, from a second grader up to a senior, each of whom spoke about their favorite core value, their favorite art activity and their favorite athletic activity. The joy of grandparents comes without strings attached, and that attitude is true of their joy at seeing their grandchild’s school.

Anytime you need an infusion of joy, visit our media wall: fwcd.org/media. It's all there across all of our social media channels.