As I’ve said many times before, “Let’s try this again.”
And “this” would be my blogging. What better day to get back
into it than January 1? And with that, what better way to blog than talk about
2013 and my hopes for 2014.
Tonight, I’m doing my melancholy thing as Christmas break
comes to an end. You know how I am, spend a couple weeks of nearly uninterrupted
time with my family and I turn to mush when things go back to the grind.
I’m not as sappy as I’ve been in the past, just more melancholy
and reflective. We reallyhad great family time together. We didn't too anything
too big, but stayed busy. We spent a lot of time together just hanging out.
The boys are at a great stage. Old enough to start to do a
lot of things for themselves, dependent on us enough to where they respect us
and look up to us as the smartest and best people they know. Their love is
still very unconditional. Our instruction, advice and discipline is still very
much followed and viewed as the right thing.
Life is still good in their eyes. They still have the look
of amazement when they see things.
Nothing more amazing than the trip to Disney World this
year. For the last 2 or 3 years, we planned that trip, and it was worth the
wait. Not only was it their first visit, but it was the first trip for myself
and my parents as well.
But even if I did nothing, watching the thrill and amazement
in my sons’ eyes was worth every penny. From driving to the airport and getting
on a plane, to seeing the castle at the Magic Kingdom, seeing Epcot,
experiencing the rides and attractions to getting back on to a plane to come
home.
There’s something magical about kids that makes you want to
provide tangible moments which make their dreams come to life. And it’s those moments that I never ever want
to forget.
And here is where I become melancholy. It just seems we, as
a society and culture, are just too busy anymore. I don’t ever want to forget
these moments with my kids, yet I seem to spend more time trying to remember
scheduling business trips, making business plans, catching up on Facebook
statuses, and arguing about sports and politics. And that’s in between getting things
done around the house, trying to catch up with friends, heading to church, and
running errands and the like. It seems
those things take up memory in my mind, but also limit the time I have to make
new memories.
It’s funny just how much 15 minutes of uninterrupted, untethered,
undistracted time means to our kids. And 15 minutes isn’t much. I want to do as
much as I can to give my boys so much more time than that. I know that
transforming Optimus Prime my frustrate me (Hey, you try it!), but it means the
world to Jakin.
I know that when they put on those super hero costumes and Grant calls me Flipflash , I should drop what I'm doing and be Flipflash. (Grant-speak for Whiplash from Iron Man.)
I know that building the Hot Wheels track to reach from one
end of the basement to the other will take some trial and error and likely only be used for 5 minutes, but it is
quality time with the boys. Effectiveness and efficiency of my utilized time shouldn't be a factor.
I know that having a sock fight might make the house messy
and seem quite childish, but that’s what gets the boys laughing and chasing me
around the house.
I know that not following through on a promise (no matter
how important something else may be) can do incremental damage to the trust
kids have in life and their parents. Though not possible, I never want to break
a promise I make to them.
Nothing brings me more joy right now than getting that true,
heartfelt smile and laugh from my boys. That one that puts a sparkle in their
eyes. That laugh that comes from the gut.
I haven’t blogged much the last 18 months or so. Part of
that was technology and not getting the connection to work between the blog and
Facebook. Part of it was being busy. Part of it was being lazy. I really didn’t
like not blogging, so we’ll see where this goes.
I almost feel a call or mission to this. Like it’s a gift I
have to give or would like to share.
But while the blogging has been few and far between, I’ve
still written down my thoughts as things go in in my life. One of the things
that hit me recently seems to fit in this blog post today.
And that is this: The world would be a better place if we
were all a lot more like kids.
We rarely act like adults, and our children often act more
mature than us. Kids share. Kids laugh. Kids play. Kids cry. Kids sleep. Kids
trust. Kids love. Truly.
I talk a lot about how my sons are like me, and I spend a
lot of time molding them to be a better version of me.
Yet I realized this Christmas break that maybe I should spend
more time being more like them.
I don’t put much stock into New Year’s resolutions. I bet
many people who had some for 2014 have already broken or forgotten them. But I do
believe in goals and always trying to be better or do better. I believe in
trying to make an impact.
So this year, I plan on spending more time blogging and
sharing my life and thoughts. Maybe I can help make someone’s life better.
Maybe I can make an impact.
Just don’t be surprised if what I have to share is heavily
influenced by a couple of boys who daily impact my life and help make me a
better man.
