My prodigal son is returning from a year-long sojourn in distant if not quite foreign lands. He has been the biggest constant in my life and this past year is the longest time that I have had without him since he came to live with me nearly 13 years ago. I understand why he needed to explore the world a little bit, and even encouraged him to do so, but I am nevertheless happy that he has decided to return home. My world has been out of whack while he was gone.
The decision to father Chris was formative in my life in part, I think, because it emerged from a rare deliberative moment in which the consequences of both action and inaction were clear. It could have been otherwise but it was not. It was also formative because it was an act of authorship. I cannot think of another single moment in which I was able to rewrite the life of another as when I decided to bring my nephew to live with me. Of course, I rewrote my own life as well. Fathering Chris and by extension fatherhood in general has become central to my self-concept. I am more than a father. It is important to me that this be so. But fatherhood is a pure, uncomplicated good. It is the one part of my narrative about which I am always proud.
I rejoice at the return of my prodigal and am grateful for him.
Tags: fatherhood
