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repeat…over the course of the final fifteen days of 2009, i’m going to let you in on fifteen things that need to change in my life in the coming year. fifteen decisions that i am making that reflect things that are important to me.
i’m going to go waaay out on a limb. i’m going to give you my best shot at honest transparency, in an attempt to be held accountable. some things will be about my spiritual journey…others are simply improvements to the life i walk. either way, they are important to me…and here’s the next one on the list:
change number seven
it’s probably not much of a secret to people who know me well, but i have this tendency to spread myself too thin. i can go days and days and days being around people.
i am energized by interacting with people. i find meaning and purpose when my life is intersecting with people who need or desire conversation, counsel, help or simply some friendship.
i love working side by side with people to complete projects…as well as the shared comradery that comes from moving forward with people to a common goal. i love hearing about and seeing and being a part of what god is doing in people’s journeys.
so here’s something that i want to change.
i want to spend more time with my sons. they really are my best friends and the people whose life stories i don’t want to miss.
they are both graduated from college, work jobs, have responsibilities and live hectic lives. chris has a son. an amazing son.
they both have beautiful wives and marriages they contend for everyday. their wives are likewise gifted, talented, and full of dreams and possibilities. not to mention busy!
i had my time with my boys. it doesn’t take much for me to get rather nostalgic. my memory of their childhoods is impeccable. i remember details like you wouldn’t believe. i used to joke that my full-time job was simply following them around…watching them and being the proudest dad ever.
man, do i miss those days.
and i want to spend more time with them.
to do that, i’ve got to be really careful and determined. their busyness and my busyness (and my constant interaction with people) does not make for a good recipe. it has been really easy for me to take them for granted. it has been equally easy for me to justify not having the time to spend with them, when they are available.
i don’t want to squander those opportunities. there aren’t a lot of them anymore. every possible new one needs to be as important to me as it was in their childhood. maybe even more important.
our relationship is different now. it’s reciprocal. i’m sure i get more from them than they ever do from me, anymore. but that’s fine with me.
i will never stop being a dad. i’m okay with the grandpa stuff. it’s very cool. but i’m a dad. chris and corey will always be my sons. i am determined to enjoy them more…respect them more…listen to them more…laugh with them more…learn from them more…be impressed by them more. not just like the old days. better.
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