Archives For Fatherhood

Matt Tolman’s thoughts on fatherhood from the perspective of a father or three children and as a son.

Staying positive in a negative world is probable one of the hardest things we have to do if we are going to lead in the different roles we play as fathers, business leaders and community leaders. We all know people in these different roles who seem to stay positive no matter what life is throwing at them. When life gives them lemons as the saying goes, they make lemonade.

think, do, be positive

Staying positive is a mental choice; It all has to do with perspective. Some will look at a glass and say it is half full. Others will look at the same glass and say that it is half empty. It is all in the perspective you keep.  Continue Reading…

Several years ago, hurricane Katrina roared into the Gulf of Mexico and displaced thousands of people. Phoenix ended up hosting and housing several hundred of those displaced by hurricane in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Many of the people who came had lost everything. A call went out to the community for help. The victims needed clothing, toys, housing, anything that could be used to help these people to get back on their feet.

How to change your heart

My wife and I thought it would be a good idea for the kids to gather up some of the toys they no longer played with and we would take them down to the coliseum. We had been blessed and thought we could help teach our kids a lesson about sharing and thankful for what we had been given. Continue Reading…

Why I Am A Father.

September 15, 2012 — Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago my youngest daughter, who is eight came to me and asked me to put her to bed. It was about 9:30 pm and we had just gotten home from shopping for school clothes. I was on my way out the door again to go close up the family business.

Why I'm a Father of 3 lovely kids

As I took a few minutes to say prayers and tuck her into bed. We preformed our bedtime ritual of sing some of her favorite songs. What struck me tonight is what she said in her bedtime pray. Continue Reading…

My youngest daughter came to me a couple of years ago and climbed up on my lap while I was watching a do it you self show on PBS. What she wanted was my attention while she told me what she needed.

How to improve your listening skills

I pretended to listen to her while a I continued to watch the show. The show was on how to on building a workbench, some I was very interested in since I needed one.

All of a sudden she grab my face with both of her little hands and turn my face so that was looking straight at her. She say, “Daddy listen to me.” She then proceeded to tell me about a party she needed to go to. Continue Reading…