Henry Has Poop!!!!

     Homer Simpson the famous Father from the longest running cartoon TV series, "The Simpsons" portrays the accepted depiction of the American Dad.... bald, beer belly, rude and dumb!  I've always taken offence to this degrading portrayal.  I will be the first to admit that this stereotype is accurate to many Fathers and at times all of us men have our off days when we may act a little like Homer, but more often than not the Good qualities of Good Fathers shine through! I had an awesome experience this past week with a truly awesome Father.  With his permission, I will share my experience.  Friday morning i fired up my quad and drove up the hill a few blocks to Mike Sundahls house to visit with him regarding some business he was helping me with.  Mike Sundahl for those of you who haven't had the opportunity of meeting him is married to Maren Platt daughter of Jay and Trish Platt.  Mike moved to town probably 6 years ago if I had to guess, anyway over the years I've gotten to know Mike better and better.  He has a lot of good qualities but i would like to talk a little bit about his example as a father, and how important being a good dad seems to be to him.  He has demonstrated through his actions, the love he has for his three little kids, and how important spending time with them is to him. I have observed this quality in Mike in many circumstances and settings.  When I spoke with Mike the night before on the phone he was at Dollar General buying new undies for his little boy Henry. He let me know that Henry was starting to potty train.  So when i parked my quad, walked to the door and knocked i was greeted by Mike and Maren's oldest Lucy.  I poked my head inside and looked to the left and saw Henry stretched out in his new underwear watching TV.  Mike came around the corner and said, "Henry are you dry?" To which Henry shook his head yes.  Mike informed me that Maren was in the valley for a couple days and he was doing the Potty Training till his wife got back.  This in itself is impressive to me, but even more impressive... Mike is in the middle of a huge renovation project and has been going full bore and still took the time off to spend with his kids Friday while his wife was in Phoenix.  Come on guys lets all admit it now, given the same circumstances having your heart set on building a new front porch and your wife is heading to phoenix, we all would have been like, "honey you are taking the kids with you, I have work to do!"  So Mike and I ended up visiting for like ten minutes out on his soon to be front porch about all of his plans for his completed renovations.  Like the pattern of all visiting, we started meandering towards my quad while finishing up our conversation. Just before i climbed onto my four-wheeler Lucy hit the front door like a bolt of lightning and squalled, "Henry has poop in his new underwear DAD!" Mike was her instant thunder as he instantaneously reacted with a sprint to the house to solve the problem.  I know to many of you this may seem small but to me it's HUGE!  What an awesome dad, cleaning poop up!! Way to go Mike! And always making time for his kids.  There are many men of this caliber that live here in SJ.  I salute all the good fathers and husbands out there in our community. Thanks for making SJ a great place to be.      
     Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn checkmarks with to be’s. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday, which is a to do. But being a good husband is not an event; it needs to be part of my nature—my character, or who I am. Lynn G. Robbins
This talk was delivered by Lynn G. Robbins, "What Manner of Men and Women ought ye to BE?" in a LDS conference in April 2011. It has changed my life for the better, and helped me become a better husband and father.  I would recommend reading it.  No matter what our religious preference we have chosen to worship God, this message will change your perspectives in a positive manner and create stronger desires to DO the things in our community, marriages, and families that will help us BECOME a happier society, BE more harmonious in our relationships, and most importantly BECOME immovable Father figures in our families!  We can and will become men and women and children of strong character by doing right and choosing goodness!