Father’s Day is this Sunday.
For the first time in 21 years, I will not have both of my daughters with me. Although I get to spend Sunday morning with Sadie, by early afternoon, Paula and I will be on the road to New Jersey for a 2-day meeting.
I won’t see Hannah at all (except maybe a FaceTime) – she is spending the month of June in Florence, Italy. Allegedly, she is there to study abroad, but since the classes are painting and photography, I suspect the “study” part was a pretext for spending a month in Tuscany.
I did something similar between my junior and senior years at UMass. I wanted to spend the summer in Boston near my college friends. Needing a plausible rationale for doing that (one that would satisfy my skeptical mother), I landed upon taking a Production Management class at Suffolk University. One week in, I dropped the “class” and spent the rest of the summer having a blast.
The indirect benefit of that summer, though, was all the adult things I had to learn and do to make it happen: find an apartment to sublet for the summer, register and pay for a class at a different college, arrange the transfer of credits from Suffolk to UMass, and finesse a short-term job to finance it all.
Even if Hannah’s month away is a boondoggle, I know she is developing the same kinds of adult skills: arranging her “study” abroad, traveling alone to a foreign country, living in an apartment with strangers. Skills she will need next year to start navigating the real world. Plus, Paula and I want her to have this traveling experience, much like experiences we had when we were young.
It’s all about creating a better life for our kids. Giving them opportunities we didn’t have, just like our parents did for us. Even though we grumble about how kids have it so easy these days, it is still very funny when your child casually texts you that, “a bunch of us are thinking about going to the French Riviera this weekend.” She sent back spectacular pictures of Nice and Monaco!
Cheers to all the Dads out there who work hard to make a better life for their kids!
Happy Father’s Day!
David Feakes
P.S. Want to get started on the most important planning you’ll ever do for your family? Give our office a call at (978) 263-6900 to get started. You’ll be so glad you did.
David Feakes is the owner of The Parents Estate Planning Law Firm, PC – a law firm for families in the Acton, Massachusetts area. David helps parents protect the people they love the most.
