Laudable effort.
Finally it comes to the question of emotional support of parents and others(other than your parents)
Instead of assembling friends and people who are not related to you, how about taking into confidence your own and spouses parents and brothers and sisters?
Emotional cushion for all is provided by joint family system.Though it has its faults , its utility outweighs its negatives.
Story:
NEW YORK (CNN) — Would you tell us about the first time Bruce told you about his Council of Dads?
I instantly thought of the girls, and that this would be a wonderful way for them to get to know different sides of their father.
I also thought the process of creating the council would give Bruce something else to focus on besides the daily battle against his illness. And the moment he said the words “Council of Dads,” the force of the idea struck me. Bruce, at one of his weakest moments, had come up with a truly powerful concept, one that had the potential to inspire a lot of people beyond our family. I felt compelled to help give life to this idea.
Can you describe for us how Bruce selected the men who would be in his Council of Dads? Did you play a role?
…Saying the ‘right thing’ matters far less than the simple act of reaching out. The point is being present.
–Linda Rottenberg
Bruce jokes that after he asked my opinion about who should be in the Council of Dads, I instantly started vetoing some of his candidates. Some of the men we knew instantly would be in the council. They would represent key aspects of Bruce’s character — TravelDad, ValuesDad, ThinkDad, DreamDad.
I really wanted someone from his hometown of Savannah [Georgia] both because being from the South is so important to him and because I wanted someone who knew Bruce growing up. But I also felt strongly that there was one side of Bruce that was missing — the side that views the world differently, that appreciates beauty as well as pain, and that cannot suppress the urge to topple authority. That’s how “RebellionDad” snuck into The Council of Dads! I love the mix we ended up with.
What did you learn about fatherhood and men from watching Bruce work on The Council of Dads?
I feel like I got a window into male intimacy and male friendship. On the one hand, there certainly was a fair bit of jousting, one-upmanship, teasing about bald spots and conversations about sports cars. On the other hand, many of the conversations Bruce had with the dads surprised me for their emotional content. The men discussed their feelings, the emotional well-being of their children, and the challenge of juggling marriage, parenting and work.
Listening to Bruce and his Council of Dads often felt like being at preschool drop-off with all the moms! In fact, all my girlfriends went to buy the book just so they could learn the secrets of their husbands. And now they’re saying to the men in their lives, “Go get you one of those Councils of Dads!”
Have you considered starting your own Council of Moms?
Yes. In fact Eden and Tybee asked the other day, “Daddy has a Council of Dads. Can you make a Council of Moms for us?” I’ve already decided on a few members, but I’m still working through what I call “Council Sudoku”: Finding the right balance of women to represent different sides of my personality and different eras of my life while also giving them unique roles to play in the girls’ lives reminds me of a puzzle grid where you keep fiddling until you finally land on a combination that works.
And like Sudoku, which is a 3×3 grid, I’m inclined to have nine members rather than Bruce’s six (Women are multifaceted and need more council members, I’ve decided!) But what I learned from watching Bruce is that you can’t simply e-mail invitations. I joked that he planned six marriage proposals. You have to make a moment.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/08/dads.linda.qa/index.html
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