Work Too Late for Bedtime Stories?

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Jun 2, 2011) - M.J. Rusaw never lacked the desire to be a good father and do all the little things for his daughter.

The only problem was that he was divorced and his daughter lived with her mother on the other side of the country. The former Air Force enlisted man -- who was awarded a medal for his service in 1985 -- visited as often as work and finances would allow, but he missed out on that personal time. So, he thought of another way to give her attention.

Instead of reading her bedtime stories, he wrote her one. He spent 9 years writing one that he would send her or read to her over the phone in small pieces, until he finally finished it. Then he published it, and put his now grown-up daughter on the cover as one of the lead characters in his fantasy epic, "The Tides of Eternity" (www.thetidesofeternity.com).

"The media is filled with stories of parents fighting to get by," Rusaw said. "Some families have both parents working two jobs each just to keep a roof over their heads. Some are single parent households, or shared custody situations, which makes finding those little moments difficult. So, I would squirrel away time when I wasn't with my daughter to write a bedtime story. Since I couldn't be there to read them, maybe writing one that I could share when we were together would show my daughter how much I cared."

He added that his message for parents in situations similar to his is similar to the one he embedded in the story he wrote for his daughter.

"I wanted her to know that a hero lives in every heart," he said. "As a parent, I've always wanted to be my daughter's hero, but initially I felt the circumstances of us living so far apart would prevent me from ever proving that to her. Now I know that the power of the heart trumps just about everything -- money, distance and even time are powerless against it."

About M.J. Rusaw

M.J. Rusaw served nine years in the U.S. Air Force, receiving the Air Force Achievement Medal for heroism in 1985. Over the more than 20 years since leaving the service, he has worked for DynCorp International as a contractor on Patuxent River Naval Air Station.