How to be a good parent when you already have great kids.

All three of my kids are unique. Each has their own very distinct attitude, world view and skill set. I love them all very much and couldn't imagine a father prouder than myself.

Emily is UBER-intelligent! Some times almost to a fault. She is constantly asking questions about the world around her to gain more knowledge. She is an information sponge. She not only wants to absorb as much information as humanly possible, just to say she has the knowledge, she wants to do something with it once she gets it. She also has a keen sense of her social surroundings. She is a leader amongst her peer group at school and keeps in vigil contact with old friends back in Ohio.

Noah is perfect little man. Well, what man is perfect? But he comes very close and has lots of time to refine himself before making his mark on the world. He plays video games constantly. At times this can be a major distraction from other responsibilities of life. But he is amazing. At eight years old he can tell you everything you never wanted to know about Pokemon. What "type" each Pokemon is. What attacks work on which characters and what attacks don't. It really is mind blowing all the information he can store in his little head. He is also one of the most emotionally well balanced boys I have ever met. He is just as comfortable crawling up in his moms lap for cuddle time, as he is demanding about his "wrestle" time with me. With so many high school and college girls in his life because of my job, there have always been jokes about girls "waiting" for Noah until he is older. Although the girls have been joking, there is some major truth to the fact that one day this little man is going to make some lucky young woman extremely happy.

And then there is Jamie. Oldest of the bunch. And at thirteen she is the one that is clearly most like her mom and most like her dad all at the same time. Her thirst for justice is just as unquenchable as her mothers and she wears her compassion for others the same place her father does, on her sleeve. Yesterday she told me of an assignment for her English class that involves her writing five paragraphs on a current controversy subject. She was struggling what to write on, because for her their are way to many choices. Does she write about the plight of street kids in Brazil? The AIDS pandemic in Africa? Or the forgotten victims of 2004 Tsunami in Thailand? Eventually she decided to write about the oppression of the Tibetan people in China. She wanted to write about Google and their recent decision to cut a deal with the PRC (Peoples Republic of China), that will allow Google to set up shop on the Chinese Internet as long as they filter "sensitive" information from the people in China. She also wanted to write about the upcoming 2008 Olympic games that will be held in Beijing. And how some want to protest the games on account of the Governments cruel treatment of the Tibetan people.

She also decided she wanted to take a personal stance against Google and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) by boycotting both. As a parent I'm trying to teach her that change, no matter in what the context, happens through relationships. When you sever relationships or communication with those you oppose or want to help, you limit your ability to be a change agent in their lives. By Google having a presence in the Chinese market they are establishing a relationship with it's people and helping them gain access to other information. With out this access the sparks of freedom may never be lit in China's people. Asking our US Olympic athletes to not attend the games is taking away from them, not only a life's dream, but a world stage for them to share their views on the PRC's human rights violations.

So we worked on a plan. I helped her set up her first blog. USOlympicTibetInfo. Over the next year she is going to blog factual information about China, it's human rights violations against Tibet, the IOC's reasons for taking the games to Beijing and other information US athletes competing in the games can use to educate themselves about the issue. Then, the following year when members of the US team are announced, she will start emailing and sending letters to team members encouraging them to visit the site and become informed.

I've found over the years with my Neo-conservative friends, that they will respect your liberal views when you have taken action on them. It's much easier for them to respect someone like Bono, who not only talks about ending poverty but puts his own time and money into doing something about it, than it is for them to respect Al Franken who just sits in a studio and flaps his gums all day.

As I have political conversations with friends and family, I am constantly predicting that in our countries future there will be an economic depression that will make "the Great Depression" look like a week at Disney World. I do think this country is amazing, but it has a poor record of learning from it's past mistakes. As a nation we have become producers of nothing and consumers of everything. As I look at my children however, I see a light at the end of that tunnel. So America look out! 2040 will see the emergence of "Team Williams"! Presidential candidate and first woman President Emily Williams-(something), flanked by passionate policy advisor and Secretary of State Jamie Williams (still not married) and Noah Williams international action movie star and Nobel prize winning poet.

A dad can dream, can't he?

In truth, Jamie wants to teach English to street kids in Brazil, Emily wants to be a pastry chef and Noah is still trying to figure out what job in life pays you to play video games all day long. No matter what they want to accomplish in life, my resolution is to help them get there. That's what parents should do!