If you have children, then you’re always proud of them and telling hilarious stories about the silly things they do. If you don’t have children, then you’re always sitting through some boring story that a parent is telling you about their kid pulling the cat’s tail over and over. They’ll laugh so hard telling it that they’ll start to cry. The tears streaming down your cheeks are from fighting off the urge to yell “THIS STORY IS BORING AND I DON’T CARE!” So with that in mind, I want to regale you with a tale of watching my child mature.

It was about 6 months after I’d started a new job (which I haven’t been fired from yet) that I looked around and realized that I was just an insignificant spec in the world of engineering. This is not what I wanted. I didn’t sleep through four years of college just to become a random person woven into the fabric of society. I wanted to be somebody….somebody who makes a difference. History is littered with engineers who have worked tirelessly and made amazing innovations, but we never remember their names. For instance, the first guy to make a bridge….he wasn’t even named Mr. Bridge. Nope, Mr. Bridge was his manager. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I needed something to define my legacy. And then, my first brain-child was born:

SODD (Society of Dunkin Donuts)

With keen intellect, a winning personality and a knack for making lists, I managed to find about a dozen willing participants. Each participant was responsible for bringing two dozen donuts for his/her assigned Thursday. And on Thursday morning, when the donuts arrived, all participants would gather around the box and break deep-fried bread together. I looked around at the society, and it was good. A bit wobbly on its feet at times, but a beautiful idea born unto my workforce.

It is with great pride that I write you today to tell you about watching this legacy take its first steps to independence. this morning, after sprinting from my car into the break room, I opened the box and almost wept with joy. One of the participants, all on his own, found a way to combine the concept of “fried dough” with that of “chocolate in a candy shell”. I had to snap a picture of this beautiful creation before I devoured it.

The Amazing Donuts

That’s what being a father is all about.