My wife died giving birth to our daughter, so naturally, my daughter and I are very close. When she brought home this unemployed, scruffy guy chasing some band dream, I instantly disliked him. Things got worse when they had an unplanned pregnancy.

Then, her boyfriend came to me, looked me straight in the eye, and confessed that he was scared to have a child but that he had already started saving money and looking for a job. He explained how he knew he wasn’t good enough for my daughter, but that he loved her with all his heart and wanted to support her in her choice—even if that meant throwing away his music dreams.

I will admit, we both ended up getting along well. This boy I had first judged was actually a very nice, warm gentleman who simply wanted the best for my daughter and their future child. That was good enough for me, so I invited him to live with us and got him a job working at the same hospital I work for. Today, I have two grandchildren, and my daughter and future son-in-law are getting hitched next weekend.