Another summer is upon us! With this change in the season comes the blistering Texas heat, trips to the beach, and plenty of poolside barbecues. However, summer is also a season of change. Just the other day, my third child, Jeremiah Menslage, graduated from high school and is headed off to Texas A&M in the fall. Many of you reading this column have experienced the same thing; as a parent, graduations are bittersweet. On one hand, your job as a mom or dad is to raise your kid to have a good head on their shoulders, and hope that when they come of age, they are prepared to take on the adult world. When graduation rolls around, you’re filled with excitement that your baby is starting the next chapter of their young life. On the flipside, your kid leaving the nest is terrifying. We dread the emptiness of no longer having them around the house anymore, living together replaced with a bi-weekly phone call. The hardest part of parenthood is that we only have our children for a short time. We have to cherish those moments. When I began having kids, everyone warned me that my time with them was fleeting, and that they’d grow up far too fast. When I looked at my tiny kindergarteners, this was hard to believe. Now that I am close to the end of my child rearing years, I can see that they were right.
Father’s Day is just around the corner! As many of you know, being a dad is not the easiest of jobs. A lot of us are kids ourselves when we start raising our own. We all make mistakes, but what counts is trying every day to be the father that God calls us to be. Young children don’t know whether or not they are rich or poor, but they do know if they are loved.
Joseph R. Menslage
President/Publisher
Katy Christian Magazine