Kind of a quiet night around here. Myself and two of the kids were enjoying BLT’s and watching Andy Griffith, while the wife and one of the boy’s ventured back to Columbus to swap and buy shoes. As night time approached, I told the other two kids to get ready for bed. I had some things that I wanted to do and was getting a bit anxious about getting them done when my oldest asked if he could talk to me for a bit. I had a decision to make right then and there. There is no pushing it off or asking for him to wait while I think about it. So, I sent my baby girl off to bed and we sat down and talked.
We talked, laughed and he shared some deep thoughts with me. That talk was something that I could never force, pull or beg out of him. He freely gave it and asked of nothing in return but to listen. If I had made the decision to head off to the office and told him we could talk in the morning, I would have missed something that I could never get again. Dad’s are you taking the time to sit and listen, laugh and hold on to your kids? Tonight may be the only time this month or year that my 10 year old will ask to just sit and talk with me. I had to ask myself, “What is important?”, and the answer was simple!
Make the moments last when your kids want to talk or be with you dad. Let them talk and ramble about life. Learn what makes them tick and what is important to them in the world as they see it. You see, being a dad is more than being the king of your castle, it’s about being a benevolent yet stern king and a king who listens to his people a king who cares about what is important. Tonight I chose to be with my son and learn about him. I have heard that some of the best conversations with your kids as they get older occur from 10:00 PM to somewhere around 2:00 AM. Most people are either asleep or going there and do not consider the trivial talk of some young kid important at that hour. But you must remember, that kind of talk may be the talk that shapes and changes a young life forever. Enjoy the time you have now with your kids while you can. You can always sleep another day or catch a quick cat nap at lunch to recover. Remember dad’s it is not about you or me, it’s about our kids and the relationship that we build now. It’s about what is important!