6/16/2024
JRB,
How will you celebrate Father’s Day today? Will you be staying in CA another night?
Where is Hunter right now? It may be his last Father’s Day with his kiddos for a while. I hope not, but who knows what the judge will decide about his sentence.
In my opinion, you made the right decision to stay out of the case. It shows the nation that our democracy rests on the idea that we are all equal & no one gets special treatment. If anything, Hunter’s treatment is harsher than it would be if he weren’t your son.
Your unconditional love for Hunter has been on full display. That is the one positive to come from the ordeal. Thanks for being there for him.
Do you remember telling People Magazine your rules of Fatherhood in 2016 when you won the Dad of the Year Award in 2016? My favorites were "Never explain & never complain." & “Half of life is just being there.” I am adding those to my list of maxims.
I appreciated some of your Father’s Day proclamation. The best part was, “fathers …help us reach our full potential, & believe in us so that we can believe in ourselves.” The worst part was “building an economy where every father can thrive” & other associations between dads & $$. Fathers as breadwinners is old school!
It’s time to stop differentiating between mothers & fathers. My colleague, primatologist, Sarah Hrdy, has debunked myths about gender parenting roles in her new book “Father Time: A Natural History of Men & Babies.” She presents all kinds of evidence to show that gender does not determine how we feel about our offspring, her most compelling being that the brains of care-giving males & females of many species, including humans, fire the same neural pathways & release the same feel-good chemicals. It’s nice to have scientific evidence to back up my observations of my husband’s excellent nurturing abilities.
As we enjoy today, let’s not forget the families in Burma where enjoying celebrations is a tremendous challenge.
BYBS,
