Approaching my 40s, a few more pounds on the scale, ok ALOT more pounds on the scale, not as athletic as I want to be, usually tired, but still a dad.
I LOVE being a dad! I have a beautiful 8 year old daughter who is the light of my life, and an awesomely challenging 3 year old son who despite the gray hairs and possible stomach ulcers he's caused me, I love unconditionally. Being a parent is no easy task, but it certainly can be rewarding to say the least. As parents, we all know what starts to happen as the kids grow up. Soccer, cheerleading, music, theater, baseball, basketball, the list of extracurriculars goes on and on and on..... We work all day, then we get home and pull some kind of pseudo meal out of our asses, sit at the table as a family, (if we're lucky for longer than 10 minutes), clean the dishes, supervise baths or showers, squeeze in that last tv show to wind down, read a little story, kiss the kids goodnight, and then proceed to melt into the sofa trying to decompress, without downing a whole bottle of Jack Daniels to do so. While all that is going on, do we really take the time to enjoy what we have? Or is it just about survival? I'm not sure.
What I do know is this, I want to take that time to enjoy it. I want to create memories for all of us. It's REALLY hard to do, but it has to be done! My dad worked ALOT, things were simpler then though. I didn't have a whole lot of stuff going on outside of school besides playing, riding my bike, listening to music, whatever I was into at the time. We had dinner together, we talked about our day, sometimes dad missed it, but not all the time. We made it work. I don't know that I can say the same now. Is it laziness? Or is it really that hard nowadays?
I have to take the time to give the kids stories to tell their kids about! Make every moment count. Create memories, laugh together, sing together, drag my fat ass off the sofa and throw a ball around. It's these little acts that will make my kids remember dad fondly, not the $15,000 vacations or the size of our house. Working to make a living and provide for my family is one thing. I realize that I need to earn money to be able to have the things we need. But will it allow me to leave something behind when I go? doubtful. I will leave my mark on this world through my kids, not the work I do, by the memories they have of their time with dad, not by the cars I've owned. My kids are my legacy. I have a responsibility to them.
