He told them to be the best husbands, boyfriends, partners, and fathers. He talked about how he didn’t know his dad and how he didn’t want his children to experience that same void.
“I want to break that cycle where a father’s not at home. Where a father is not helping that son or daughter. I want to be a better father, a better husband, a better man. It’s hard work. It demands your constant attention and frequent sacrifice.”
For blacks in America where single-parent households are increasingly the norm, Obama instilled the importance of family.
“Everything else is unfulfilled if we fail at family, if we fail at that responsibility. I know that when I am on my deathbed someday, I will not be thinking about any particular legislation I passed. I will not be thinking about a policy I promoted. I will not be thinking about the speech I gave. I will not be thinking about the Nobel Prize I received.
“I will be thinking about that walk I took with my daughters. I’ll be thinking about a lazy afternoon with my wife. I will be thinking about sitting around the dinner table and seeing them happy and healthy and knowing that they were loved. And I’ll be thinking about whether I did right by all of them.
