Mothers give sons permission to be a prince

Relationships with our fathers have been central in shaping our characters.

We catch ourselves saying what we heard our fathers say, or doing something we know they did. Many of us have had pain and resentment in these relationships.

We wanted more time than they gave us, or we longed for praise but got criticism, or we were never sure we measured up to them. 

Some of us can change our relationships with our fathers.

We can do it, not by asking them to be different, but by being our full adult selves with them.

This new experience is the doorway to a new aspect of ourselves.

Many of us cannot change our relationships with our fathers, but being with our sons and daughters in ways that nurture their growth is another chance to redo for ourselves what we missed.

Even the strongest, most loving families always have room for growth. There is no such thing as a "perfect" family. 

If our family is far from perfect, that's okay. It only matters that we are working at getting better.

Often, runners will say they can remember many days when they just did not feel like running; however, once they started, they felt more energy and were easily able to run the distance they had set for that day. 

Whatever we need to do, we can do in small acts -- a chore done without being asked, a helping hand with the dishes, a soft word, a surprise gift for no reason. These are small things, easily done. 

Love is made of small things; what is large is the love with which they are accomplished. 

When we begin to work on our relationship with our family, we will feel the new energy, and quickly we will find ourselves making progress.