Editor's note: Contributing Columnist, Steve Nicklas, expresses his views and insights on various topics of local interest in Steve's Marketplace _______________
This article is a little different than usual. But so is the subject. It's about an investment that keeps on giving -- and taking.
It's about a bond that is not financial in nature, but instead emotional. A bond that forms quicker and stronger than epoxy, and fosters a lifetime of blissful experiences.
This is the bond between a father and a daughter. Fathers raise daughters differently than they do sons. It's probably not fair or equitable. But it's justifiable to a dad, because of this spiritual union.
Fathers and daughters can laugh together and cry together. They try to make sense of a complicated world, distilling moments in time into something precious. Together you frolic when you should behave, and whisper when you should be quiet. Rules are boundaries that don't always apply when you're together and having fun.
As a father, you invest your time intoyour relationship as willingly and tirelessly as Warren Buffett invests money. The return you get is unparalleled. A warm smile or a sweet utterance of “Daddy” is sufficient payment for your time.
You are indescribably proud. You see yourself in her actions and mannerisms and speech. Sometimes, you wonder if this is good, recalling what you've seen and done in your past.
The investment part begins early. You never imagined that children's clothing could cost so much. Then there are dolls to buy and teeth to straighten. And paying for cars and college.
College is amountain of anexpense. Tuitions are increasing by 7 percent a year on average -- even in a recession --while room-and-board costs grow like the U.S. national debt or the population of China.
And more students are attending college than ever, when you consider the foreign influx. In Florida, stateuniversities and community colleges are bursting with enrollments and new construction on their campuses.
Scholarships and grants can help, as do unsurpassed in-state offerings such as Bright Futures and the Florida Prepaid Program. For Florida high school graduates, the costs of college are defrayed through the state's emphasis on higher education and programs such as these.
Fernandina Beach High School will hold its graduation this Saturday for several hundred seniors. My daughter will be among them. She is the student body president.
Another contingent of bright-eyed and ambitious students will partake in the hallowed passage to the workplace or college. It is sentimental for parents, but long-anticipated for students.
Graduation is a time for reflection, and a time for dreaming. Reach for the stars and a bright future, but don't forget your past. Growing up inthe enchanted environment of Fernandina Beach will be one of your fondest memories.
After graduation, the close-knit circle of friends unravels, as everyone chases their dreams. But you'll keep your high school friends for life, as you will the lessons from your teachers.
As a father, the most exhilarating thing is that this story is just beginning. Many new and riveting chapters will be written in coming years, adding to a bulging scrapbook of memories -- for a father and his daughter.
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(Steve Nicklas is a financial advisor who lives on Amelia Island. He can be reached at 904-753-0236 or at thenicklasteam2@msn.com.)