Fathers, Parenting, Poetry

The day before Hunter's Baptism four generations of Andersens went fishing- they are all quite comfortable with a pole in their hands. One great boy learning from three great fathers- in more than one way!

This is a fun picture of my dad at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City. He is a fun dad and a determined soul :) Happy Father's Day Dad!

Thinking about Fathers today, I started reading through poetry online. I read some nice poems by well known American Poets, but it wasn't until I searched on lds.org that I found some that really touched me. President Gordon B. Hinckley said that when he was a boy, his father would offer him a coin now and again to memorize a poem or a piece of scripture. His father offered him 25 cents to memorize William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus.” Two verses of it are:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.


It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

(R. J. Cook, comp., One Hundred and One Famous Poems [1923], 95)

I remember listening to a talk as a family in my teenage years. The speaker and our Dad challenged us to memorize this thought: “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.”

I believe being a good parent takes firm resolve and determination. I know I am learning and have plenty of room to grow as a nurturing mother. This poem is from the "Ensign" written by a mother for her daughter- I love it!


To Maryruth—April 1950 To a Young Plant

My little braided wonder
With your candid, asking eyes,
And cheeks like magic moth wings,
And words increasing wise,

Six Aprils have I loved you,
Discovering and learning;
A fragile plant expanding,
To warmth and sunlight turning.

Hungry, impatient daughter,
Root deep in me and flourish;
Your purpose is to flower,

And mine it is to nourish.