This is my friend, Joshua Hamilton Scott, pictured on the right helping me get dressed on my wedding day (now almost 10 years ago), and pictured again stage right of me in my wedding assembly of groomsmen. Who would think that almost a decade later as my wife and I prepare to celebrate our wedding…
Author: Samuel Wakefield
Friends for Life
It was Saturday afternoon, I was at the mall shopping with my wife and kids, when I got the message that one of my closest friends appeared to be losing his battle with cancer. He had just been rushed to the hospital, resuscitated, and finally hooked up to life support machines. I was warned that…
What’s next?
This past week I finished workshops with another class of Fulton’s Teen Dads program, a question I left asking myself after Thursday’s final class, was what’s next? To be frank, it’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately about a many areas of my life. But today, during church the speaker presented this question…
What story do you want to tell?
This week I went to see President Obama give a speech to a group of about 8,000 students and young people here in Atlanta. The content of the speech was interesting (about upward class mobility and relieving the student loan debt for the next generation). But the reason I went was actually because I have…
Mindful Parenting
Lately I’ve been reading the book Mindful Parenting by Dr. Kristen Race and it’s been a great read, particularly as lots of changes have been occurring in our household. My wife and I joke with each other that we tend to make big life changes all at the same time, once every few years. This time,…
Fathering…
Riley: Mom! Me: Riley, stop calling your mom. She’s resting. Riley: Oh, I was just pretending with Olivia. We’re playing. Me: Well, you’re standing in the middle of the hallway outside our bedroom, you might wake mommy up. Mom (groggily waking up): Girls…everything ok? Riley: Daddy! Mommy’s awake, she’s calling us! (at which point they…
Like Riding A Bike…
Saturday, my oldest daughter Riley learned a new word: momentum. Since it was such a lovely Valentine’s Day (a balmy 60 degrees in the middle of winter), we spent some time outside practicing our bike riding skills. It also happened to be my birthday weekend (but we’ll get to that later). At any rate, Riley…
Daddy, what does African American mean?
Here’s a window into our family conversation last night before bedtime with the girls. Even at an early age our 4 (almost 5) year old recognizes difference (lately gender differences have been a huge topic of conversation) along with race. Riley: Daddy, what does African American mean? Me: It means that we are both American,…
Write the vision…almost 10 years later
Today while getting ready for the day, I happened to think back to 2006. My wife and I were completing our first year of marriage, she was in nursing school and I was starting my second year as a teacher. That fall, we wrote a document entitled The Wakefield Campaign, what can only be described as…
So many choices, so many decisions
Yesterday we attended the open house of a local Christian centered private school. Overall, I was impressed with both the culture and the academic rigor of the school. Former students spoke highly of their experience overall there, faculty who spoke mentioned their own children as students. The headmaster of the school talked about the school…
everyday fatherhood 