Just over a year ago, on December 29, 2024, President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100. His parenting wisdom has always been an inspiration to us here at The Daily Dad.
That’s why, in his honor, we’d like to share our favorite Jimmy Carter entry from The Daily Dad book.
And, to thank you for being a newsletter reader, we’d like to kick off the New Year with special pricing on The Daily Dad ebook: it’s available for a limited time for just $2.99 in digital format. Or, if you want a copy of the book designed to stand the test of time, check out the premium leatherbound edition of The Daily Dad, full of features that make the book a keepsake to be passed down to your children and further generations to come.
April 26
The Moments of Leniency Matter
In Georgia in the mid-1930s, when he was but ten years old, Jimmy Carter was fishing with his father. As they caught fish, his father attached their growing haul to a trotline that he hooked onto Jimmy’s belt loop, a point of great pride for the boy.
But then, several hours later, Jimmy looked down and realized that the line had broken or become unclipped without him noticing. Frantically, desperately, he dove into the water, searching, hoping, terrified his father would be upset.
“What’s wrong?” his father asked. “I’ve lost the fish, Daddy.” “All of them?” his father replied. “Yes, sir, yes, sir,” was all Jimmy could say through his tears.
“Daddy was rarely patient with foolishness or mistakes,” Carter would reflect eighty years later.
But, after a long pause, his father smiled and said, “Let them go, Hot. There are a lot more fish in the river. We’ll get them tomorrow.”
Many years later, it was this moment of patience and kindness and forgiveness that Carter remembered. The fish no longer mattered; in fact, they never did matter. What mattered was that his father knew what Jimmy needed in that moment.
What about you? Do you understand the power of leniency and tolerance? Can you let things go? Can you control your temper and frustrations? Do you know when it’s time to push and when it’s time to pull them in close to you?
To celebrate the New Year, fresh starts, and our commitment to our most important job—being a parent—we’re offering, as mentioned above, The Daily Dad ebook for just $2.99 for a limited time. We hope you take advantage of this special pricing to try the book. It gives you access to this kind of parenting wisdom, one piece at a time and one day at a time. Or, if you already own the book and want to order your copy of our keepsake leatherbound edition, head over to dailydad.com/leather.
Thank you for being a Daily Dad reader. Best wishes to you and yours for a very Happy New Year!
