My biggest blessings

     Loftis

This column is being written on Friday morning, which is an anomaly. Typically, it’s more like Monday morning. I’m a procrastinator by nature — something I’ve learned to guard against since I work in a deadline-based business.

Sometimes, it’s difficult deciding on a topic. Sometimes I write about politics. Sometimes I write about sports. Sometimes I write about what’s most important to me, and that’s my family. This is one of those times.

Father’s Day is Sunday, and it’s one of my favorite days of the year. It’s a day when I’ll take some time to reflect on how blessed I am as a father and grandfather.

I have two sons. Ronnie is nearly 32 now, and his brother Ryan will be 27 soon. I also have two grandsons — Hayden is 15 and Liam is 8.

All of them make me proud in their own ways, and the best moments of my life are the ones I get to share with them.

My relationship with my own dad was not especially close, and that was something that had a profound effect on my life — something I sensed from an early age and never quite understood. I was determined that I would have a better relationship with my own sons.

Ronnie told me once that as a teenager, he got tired of hearing me say I was proud of him. That made me chuckle, but it also prompted me to tell him why that was the case: because I never wanted him to wonder, never wanted him to question whether he made me proud.

Their mother and I divorced when Ryan was 4 and Ronnie was 9, and they ultimately moved to northeast Arkansas, three hours away from where I lived. That made it difficult to have the kind of presence in their life that I wanted to have, but I did my best to see them as often as possible. Some of my favorite memories are of time spent with them, whether watching them play basketball or the three of us watching a movie at my home.

These days, Ryan is a police officer in Gentry, having graduated last summer from the Northwest Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Springdale. I don’t get to see him as much as I would like. His job keeps him busy and our schedules often don’t line up. He’s a fine young man who wants to serve his community and help other people, and I’m proud that he’s my son.

Ronnie and his family live in North Little Rock and he is a police officer in Sherwood. Like his brother, Ronnie wants to help his fellow citizens. He was recently promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in the Arkansas National Guard, holds two bachelor degrees and was class leader when he attended the police academy in 2021. Just like Ryan, he makes me proud every day.

If there is anything more special to me than being a father, it’s being a grandfather. I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with Hayden and Liam, but every minute with them is special. Hayden just finished the ninth grade. He’s an incredibly intelligent, perceptive young man and I have enjoyed watching him grow up.

Liam is the baby, but he’s quickly becoming a young man, too. He played baseball with a travel team this spring and hopefully he’ll start basketball this coming season. He’s smart, well-mannered (most of the time, anyway) and handsome. He also wakes up very early, and he’s always happy to wake Pops up early, too, when I get an opportunity to visit.

Father’s Day is special to me. It’s a day when I can count my blessings. But the truth is, I count them every day.

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@Carroll-CoNews.com.