Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

This morning I will be taking my oldest son to the doctor.  Some of you know that he has struggled with allergies and we’re still trying to narrow down one of his symptoms.  Today’s test will be three hours of “drink this and wait.”

Parents today can look at their children as a burden—just one more person that they’re responsible for.  Parents are trained to look to others to raise their children—be they grandparents, day care or school.  The thing is, you, as their parent, have the best ability to influence them for good or ill.

If you spend the time that you have together under the same roof apart from each other, getting what you think is important, you may find that you miss the opportunity to connect with your children, to pass on what truly matters and to be a good example to them.

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“From the bank.”

That was the answer that my oldest gave to the question in the title.  He knew that we drove up to the bank and that’s where I got the money to pay for things.

Kids notice things that are right in front of them.  They see that I go to work everyday—though they (obviously) have not made the connection that I do that so that we can have money to buy things that we need and want.

“God gives it to us,”  was the response of the second child

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This past year we had a missionary to the Ukraine over to our house after the Sunday service, and as we got to talking about the differences between here and there, he told me that one of the big differences is crime.  He told me how that he lets his children take the subway to and from school and other locations– by themselves.

Lenore Skenazy did the same in New York City.

In letting her son find his way home (a 45 minute adventure) with $20, a map, and the general direction, this author gave her son self confidence– the ability to feel grown-up.  She also gave herself (unknowingly, we’re lead to believe) a lot of press coverage.

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Americans collect junk.  No, seriously.  If you look at any other civilization across the world, we’re the number one owners of junk—I believe—that can be found.

And I’m probably one of the worst culprits.

You see, I am one of those guys that likes to keep old school materials because I believe that someday my kids will get some use out of the math problems I did in school.

Stop that laughing—I’m serious! (or at least partly so.)

This generation of adults have more access to other people’s money than at any time in our nation’s history, and they believe that they need a house full of stuff just like their parent’s house, and they need it now.

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Hopefully it wasn’t last father’s day.  And yet telling your dad that you love him, for a son, is one of the most awkward things you can do if the father didn’t set out building that degree of transparency all the way up.

I can’t remember the first time I ever told my grandfather I loved him—but it was later on in life.  As his life started nearing its end, I made sure that a conversation did not go by where I let him know that I loved him.

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So, this weekend Virtuous Blonde and I decided to do something drastic.  For quite a while we have kept things at the house pretty much as is because we figured that the Lord wanted us out of this area, and we’d been house hunting.  However, time continues to march on, and as our youngest continues to grow, it was getting to the point where we needed to take action.  You see, the table we got as a wedding present doesn’t really seat five well, but there’s carpet in our dining room and that doesn’t work well with children eating– as I know some of you are aware.

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One of the toughest things I feel as a parent is the constant gaze of my children.  They see me at my best and at my worst.  They know when I’m upset, and when I’m overtired.  They have expectations that I can either meet or fail to meet.

And all these things can be a part of the person that they become.

Especially when it comes to dads and daughters.  I’m learning through Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters and through experience with my own daughter that I’m a special person in her life.  And I see how she, even at this age, reacts to other men.

This brings home what D is for Dad states clearly:

How you treat the women in your life will have a huge influence on how your little girl will expect to be treated by the men in her life.

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