When Mike feels like his father, Tim, doesn’t pay enough attention to him, he turns to an unexpected mentor for help. Tim soon realizes that he needs to be a better parent.
Mike was a boy from the suburbs who was kind and quiet. He came from a very wealthy family. Tim, his father, ran a construction company that did well. Mike’s classmates all knew that his dad was rich, but Mike never made a big deal about it. Even his teachers liked him, and he was a good student who worked hard.
Mike was about to start the fifth grade when his aunt Kathy died after a short illness. On the weekends, Kathy would often take Mike to the zoo.
“Promise me you’ll go say hi to the animals for me,” she told Mike as she left.
Mike was saddened by the death of his aunt, and he started to have trouble at school. Tim was also sad about his sister’s death, but he kept himself busy by focusing on work and getting more contracts. Tim spent less and less time at home, which made Mike feel even more alone.
Tim would turn him down every time he tried to spend time with his father or go to the zoo with him. “Listen, son. Right now, I’m just really busy at work, okay? Tim told his son, “If you want some company, you can hang out with your friends whenever you want.”
Anthea, Mike’s mother, could also see that her son needed his father, but it was hard to get Tim to agree. Jake and Gabriel, two of Mike’s friends, saw that he was sad and tried to help him feel better. They saw Tony, Mike’s next-door neighbor, do something interesting.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you really needed me. I’ll never ignore you like that again, I promise.”
“Man, you’ve got to go look at your neighbor’s yard. We promise you’ll love it,” Jake told him. Four months later, on Father’s Day, there was a special event at Mike’s school. All of the students were asked to bring their dads or other important men in their lives to school and give a short talk about who they are and what they do.
Everyone in town knew Tim, so when Mike brought a 64-year-old man to the Father’s Day presentation, everyone was surprised. People in the audience whispered, “That’s not Tim.” Since they had never seen the man before, some people wondered if he was Mike’s grandfather or an uncle.
When Mike’s turn came, he brought Tony up on stage. Tony was obviously very nervous because he didn’t know anyone there. Many of the people there didn’t understand why Mike brought Tony instead of his successful father.
“Everyone called their dad their hero today. Mike started his speech by saying, “I want to call my neighbor Tony my hero.”
“I’ve known him for a little while. During this time, he was like a father to me. Tony really is a hero. He helps dogs he finds wandering around the city. Tony has 14 dogs living with him right now. He found them all hurt, hungry, and on the verge of death. He helped them all get better. Tony gives all of his retirement money to these dogs. “You don’t know what kind of heart he has,” Mike said as he was leaving.
Mike didn’t know that Tim had arrived late to the event, but he did. The day before, Anthea had called Tim to beg him to come to the presentation.
“You know how hard things have been for him since Kathy died. Please come to his party. She said, “Our son needs his father.”
When Mike’s turn came, he brought Tony up on stage. Tony was obviously very nervous because he didn’t know anyone there. Many of the people there didn’t understand why Mike brought Tony instead of his successful father.
“Everyone called their dad their hero today. Mike started his speech by saying, “I want to call my neighbor Tony my hero.”
“I’ve known him for a little while. During this time, he was like a father to me. Tony really is a hero. He helps dogs he finds wandering around the city. Tony has 14 dogs living with him right now. He found them all hurt, hungry, and on the verge of death. He helped them all get better. Tony gives all of his retirement money to these dogs. “You don’t know what kind of heart he has,” Mike said as he was leaving.
Mike didn’t know that Tim had arrived late to the event, but he did. The day before, Anthea had called Tim to beg him to come to the presentation.
“You know how hard things have been for him since Kathy died. Please come to his party. She said, “Our son needs his father.”
Tim took time off work to help with the event, and he even started the grill in Tony’s backyard. Jake and Gabriel, two of Mike’s friends, and all of their classmates and their families were there. They gave Tony money, extra cans of dog food, and medicine.
Also, ten of the dogs found new homes, and Tim decided to bring one of them into their family.
“Thank you all for your kind donations, and thanks to Mike, Tim, and Anthea for setting this up. Tony said at the end of the event, “You’re the best neighbors I’ve ever had.”
Tim made sure to spend a lot more time with Mike after that. He gave other people jobs at his company so he would never have a reason to miss time with his family. In honor of Kathy, it became a habit to go to the zoo.
After ten years, Mike got his Bachelor of Science degree and planned to open a veterinary clinic where he would treat and care for animals. Tim’s company built his son’s own building as a surprise so he could get started. Mike’s first employees were Jake and Gabriel, who had been in the same class as him.
From this story, what can we learn?
Put family first at all times. After his sister died, Tim threw himself into his work and didn’t notice that his son needed him. He didn’t notice the problem until Mike started to look up to Tony as a dad.
Change is always possible. Mike’s decision to bring Tony to Father’s Day didn’t bother Tim, because he knew he needed to spend more time with his family.