SALT LAKE CITY — I missed out on a lot of classic decision-making when I married a woman who brought four children with her.

Though I made it in time to be in on the ear-piercing discussion and the baptism discussion, I was too late to make any contribution/decision/lecture on the issue of circumcision. What was done was done. Whether I had an opinion on the matter didn’t matter in the slightest.

It was rather like me blogging my opinion on last year’s spring; I can talk about it all I like, but spring has sprung, and what I think about springing is neither interesting nor relevant and, coming after the fact, leans towards whiny.

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Prodigal Dad: A chance to be Superdad when a daughter gives birth

Clearly, it was my daughter Myelda's day as she gave birth to her first child. But, as explained in this edition of Prodigal Dad, I did a happy dance inside (the only place my wife will let me dance), knowing that it was really my day to test my resolve to be a better guy/dad/man.

However, when my daughter gave birth to our grandson, it occurred to me that I may actually have a say on the issue of circumcision by the very fact I would be in the room.

I have been trying to be a better dad for several months now — grandfathering is grandfathered into fatherhood — and being a better dad, in this instance, involves me being … involved.

I started to sneak a little study time to research the issue so that when I was asked for my opinion — as I inevitably would be — my very expression of knowledge, my factual tone, my sheer dad and grampa-ness would convey the authority of a man who knows.

I started with the New Testament.

First off, all the circumcision talk in the Bible, as far as I can tell, doesn’t mean what I thought it meant. There is no religious teaching that encourages or discourages circumcision except as an extension of the Law of Moses or in the writings of Paul where he teaches that Christian converts do not have to first become Jews before they could be Christians.

Most times when it was mentioned, I took it to mean “Are you committed or not committed?”

I stopped collecting secular statistics after an hour or two because they seemed counterproductive. It was a draw as far as learned doctors were concerned. No one would recommend it globally, nor would anyone recommend prohibiting the practice.

Here is what I know. As far as the world goes (World Health Organization that is,) [estimates](<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_13/sr13_160.pdf D and C 74, 5-7>) are that 30 percent of males on the planet today are circumcised. In the United States the practice is more common at 70 percent. The western region is lower than the rest of the U.S., and is the most significantly changing of all U.S. regions, decreasing 30 percent from 61 percent in 1980 to 31 percent in 2003.

Circumcision is not a teaching of my church, where it is taught that it was part of the old Law of Moses, something we don’t practice today.

In a last shot at objectivity, I cornered my grandson’s pediatrician, Dr. Abba of Alpine Pediatrics, who has three daughters. He told me that when he has a son, he will have the surgery performed. Based on his experience, Utah was definitely on the side of circumcision.

I prepared my pen and pad for words of pediatric wisdom from a doctor who was not only of my faith but of my neighborhood. He was the guy next door … well, down and to the left.

Here is the word he gave me: preference. The bottom line is that having this surgical procedure done is a matter of parental preference.

So, I attempted to think like my grandson coming home after a hard day at work in the presidential Oval Office, dealing with all things governmental. He sets his briefcase down, loosens his tie and hops in the shower. What is he thinking?

Probably not about what happened in a sunny pediatrician’s office four weeks into his earth life.

So, if he doesn’t care, and neither the World Health Organization nor his church care, why not save him the pain and his grandmother's $450 and buy him a binky for now and a New Testament and a “newcomer’s guide to Washington D.C.” for when he gets older?

With this in mind, I prepared my speech — my first real grandpa speech — spiced with clever thoughts, a statistic (the 30-percent one I thought was good) and a scripture.

As luck would have it, before I could even prepare for my chance at the proverbial pulpit, my grandson was put through the procedure. His mother, grandmother and maybe even a rogue aunt had already convened, determined and written out the check.

Chagrined, I smiled, and wrote down a few suggestions for cabinet posts for when my grandson's older. Maybe I can influence that decision.

Until then, I may have to rethink my whole idea of fatherhood, leadership, words of wisdom and making decisions that really have an effect on the lives of my family.

Or, at very least, making those decisions faster.

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Main Image: Nurse Judy snaps while grampa snoops and the doctor snips. (Photo: Nurse Judy)

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*Davison writes about things he is familiar with: things like raising children, taking children to therapy, bailing children out of trouble, and trying not to beat up parents of other children when they yell at his children for not getting the basketball to their children. Read more from Davison at davisoncheneymegadad.blogspot.com.**

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