Over the history of this strange crowded household we live in, I’ve given Buddy a pretty hard rap from time to time. He came here in rough shape with 3 kids under his wing and a lot of troubles in his suitcase. Well, I have to say that of all of is in this house he’s evolved the most. He’s become clear thinking, determined, attentive to his kids, and genuinely prepared to do all he can to make this family succeed.
Of course, he has his limits, as do we all, but he’s stepped outside the preconceived box that he arrived in and it is paying off in rewards that I don’t think he could have otherwise expected or hoped for. First and foremost, he’s earning the respect of his children. He sets limits and sticks to them even when they put up a fight. He finds time and attention to spend on each of them and keeps a fairly good nature throughout. Among other things, he’s learning to cope with his own shortcomings without projecting them on the children and he much more punctual than he’s ever been his whole life.
It’s such a pleasure to see. It makes a dad proud and gives me hope that he’s finally finding his feet on the ground and might be able to move forward in life in ways that he couldn’t even dream of before. He spent so many years in a fog of bad decisions, short term misadventures, true dispair, and missteps that led in a downward spiral of negativity and self abuse that many never recover from.
He’s only thirty-four and I look forward to what comes next for him.