yesterday at 12:32 AM
Happy Father's Day: Not just another day
The perfect gift does exist, and it is found in the bond between parent and child.
By ELLSWORTH "DERRY" RUNDLETT
http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/not-just-another-day_2012-06-17.htmlThere is no greater gift than a child. Another great gift is when someone gives you yourself. Over the years, Nick gave me gifts that seemed to reflect the depths of my soul. I foolishly believed that this recognition was mutual, that I knew Nick inside and out, just as he knew me. However, fatherhood has a way of teaching us exactly how much we do not know.
When he was 40 years old, Nick revealed that he had been struggling with gender issues. I was shocked. Unbeknownst to me, my son had lived his entire life with the sense that he was really a daughter. Now the burden of resisting this inner knowledge had become too heavy. Nick planned to transition and become Nicole. I was frightened. I feared for Nicole's future, and that of my grandchildren. What would happen to her job? Her marriage? Her social life? Most of all, what was going to happen to my best friend?
I wasn't sure how I should react.
