Awesome dad

I want to take this opportunity to honor my husband, Carl Futia, as an amazing dad.

For many years, I was the one in the family who went out to work, while he worked at home and had responsibility for the home and family. We have three children who were adopted from Kolkata as tiny, high-risk infants. All three of them have learning disabilities, and it was Carl who year after year patiently worked with them on their homework, attended meetings with our school district, and talked with their teachers to iron out issues. He also took them to the doctor, transported them to birthday parties, and did all the things that were needed to keep them safe, well and happy. When they were small, they came to him to kiss their "boo-boos" and comfort them when they had bad dreams. Now they are 20, 17 and 12, and the older two are well on their way to a successful adult life. Our youngest son has always been a big challenge, as he suffers from acute early-onset bipolar disorder as well as mental retardation. It takes a huge amount of patience and understanding to get through each day with a bipolar child. Carl has developed a special knack for defusing our son's oppositional behavior and tantrums, while also providing boundaries and dispensing hugs whenever our son needed them. Being the primary caregiver to our son has taken an incredible amount of fortitude, and Carl has been the one to show the rest of us how to cope with the daily ups and downs. I am thankful beyond words that our children were given the gift of a special dad to match their special needs. Happy Father's Day, Carl!

Chris F in IL
Mom of Leo Rajan (20), Anne Shanti (17) and Peter Ramesh (12)