My New American Dream

Shortly after the election of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States, I heard the following quote:

“Now I can tell my kids they can be anything they want to be.”

I sincerely hope for two things. First, that any parent would not refrain from letting their children know that they can be anything they want to be, regardless what those they know or look like have accomplished. Second, that all parents tell their children about those things they absolutely must be.

My son is three and my daughter is four. They can accomplish anything. To me that is the American Dream. It’s part and parcel to being American. It’s what has brought so many to our shores and over our fences.

They will fail. I hope they fail. I have failed. I have also succeeded, and my successes are so much the sweeter for my failures. It’s an unwritten corollary to the American Dream and that pulling yourself up and dusting off, ready for the next round, is required.

I have accomplished more in education and profession than my parents. But it would be for naught if had I not learned from them some very, very important lessons outside the American Dream. These lessons are what makes the American Dream more than just a life path, but a life.

I learned from my parents that I absolutely must be the best husband and father possible. That I must be the best son and brother possible. That this comes before education and profession.

In this I have failed as well. I am now married to my third wife. I am so incredibly blessed that after two painful and miserable failures I have found sweet success. I feel I am finally being the husband I should be, and always learning how to be a better one.

With wife number three came children. This feels like constant failure. But at the end of a long day full of whining, crying, and a dearth of manners comes success. My little boy comes over and asks to sit in my lap. He climbs up and snuggles in. I am now the world’s greatest dad. Until bedtime.

Being a husband and father has taught me how poorly I have done at being a son and brother. So I work on those as well. Several times a year I get to work on being an uncle. It’s a lot of work on top of the American Dream stuff. Maybe I should make that my American Dream instead. I should make that my true life path. Be the best me possible, by being the best for those around me.