Great Recipe for Authentic Fatherhood | deepfatherhood

Faced with the fact that our children do not come with instruction manuals, we are left to our own devices to come up with some good recipes for parenthood. Below is a great recipe for authentic fatherhood that I think many families will really enjoy! Feel free to modify as fits your taste buds.

- ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - Clip here? ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - -

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Recipe

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Authentic Fatherhood

Serves 1-8 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ????

Dry Ingredients
Hopes&Dreams
Fears
The Past
Partner?s Vision for Family Life
Cultural Expectations
Courage (dry only)
Mulligans

Wet Ingredients
Love (fresh squeezed)
Acceptance
Humility
Forgiveness
Inner Sight
Selective Blindness

Directions

During Pregnancy

1. Whisk together equal parts Hopes&Dreams, Fears, and The Past. Add enough fresh squeezed Love to form a sticky mixture. Knead gently until a smooth dough is formed. ?Place in a warm (98.6??) dark place and let rise/ferment for 9 months.
2. Check periodically and fold in generous amounts of Partner?s Vision for Family Life and Cultural Expectations.

Upon Arrival of Child (or Children)

1. Remove warm fermenting dough from dark place. Divide out a child-sized portion of dough to work with. Return the unused portion to a warm dark 98.6? place for future use. (Don?t worry. Like a well cared for sourdough starter, it will keep for decades. The flavor only becomes more complex and nuanced with age.)
2. Immediately sprinkle in as much dry Courage to the dough as it will take without becoming crumbly. Since babies do not come with Instruction Manuals, you will need as much dry Courage as the dough will hold to see you through along the way. (*Important Note: Liquid Courage does not work well at all in making authentic fatherhood! If you don?t have any dry, it is best just to leave it out altogether.)
3. Over the years, you will have to pour in Acceptance to prevent the dough from drying out. Unless tempered with Acceptance, Hopes&Dreams can often overpower the flavor. You will know when you?ve added the right amount of Acceptance when you?re able nurture each child?s loftiest aspirations while also making space for their (and your own) inevitable shortcomings and failures.
4. Add in generous amounts of Humility and Forgiveness. You will need both because they compliment each other.? Humility helps us ask for forgiveness when we?ve hurt someone and for when you are overwhelmed by the task at hand. Forgiveness is for when they (or you) disappoint, fall short, and don?t live up. You will need to continually add both of these ingredients throughout a lifetime.
5. Grease a 9?12 roasting pan with Inner Sight and Selective Blindness. Place dough in the pan and bake slowly in The Family Crucible at 98.6?? for a lifetime. (Note: Inner Sight always helps you know what is coming up for you at any stage along the way with Authentic Fatherhood. Selective Blindness, along with selective mutism and selective deafness (which are all readily available) are always very powerful flavorings that are particularly helpful during the child?s push toward independence and adulthood.
6. Reserve the Mulligans for basting purposes. How to use: (1) Acknowledge your bad shot. (2) Apologize and ask for a re-do. (3) Tee it up and try it again.

?This recipe can be handed down from generation to generation.

?

I live in a blended family, and am a fully engaged co-parent of 5 (five!) children, ages 10- 16. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate in North Carolina. I have an M.A. in Counseling Psychology with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, California. I research and write about the depths of fatherhood.

Source: http://deepfatherhood.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/great-recipe-for-authentic-fatherhood/

jim marshall died 2013 toyota avalon the secret life of bees full moon amber rose aubrey o day masters live