What Are Fathers Made Of?

Heard this poem in my Church today. Its written by Paul Harvey. I loved it... because I felt it real... So here it goes.... A father is a person that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic A father is a person that growls when he feels good...and laughs out loud when scared half to death A father never feels worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks...never quite the man his son believes him to be...and this worries him So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him A father is a person who gets angry when the first school grades aren't as good as he thinks they should be He scolds his son...though he knows it's the teacher's fault Fathers are persons that give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough... so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who'll live the longest One day they lose...and the bet's paid off to the part of them they leave behind I don't know where a father goes when he dies But I've an idea that after a good rest... he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he loved and the children she bore He'll be busy there, too...repairing the stairs...oiling the gates...improving the streets... smoothing the way.