Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Family really matters

This blog’s initial intent was to be lighthearted and fun.  Inspired by the Dooce blog that I found linked from Brad and Amy’s blog Susanne and I thought it would be a great place to put down our funny stories and life snippets.

Life isn’t always a bowl of cherries though, is it. 

Lately, I have found my work life to be very stressful and overwhelming.  Too much work, not enough time and the pressure to complete tasks that are far beyond most rational human reason have brought me to a place where I find it hard to write anything witty or funny.  Each day seems to bring an increased level of this stress.

Then, each day, I come home to a family that loves me.  My children run to the door and great me most days with “YAY, Daddy’s home!” which is usually enough to melt the toughest corporate armor that you may put on during the day.  Some days it’s a bit harder, and on those days I feel like a bad father because I realize that my response to them is not what it should be.

A 3 and 4 year old not only have no clue what a hard day at work is like, but shouldn’t have to.  Tonight my son wanted to go outside and play with the neighborhood boy on his" “4 wheeler”.  They drive around and crash their Power Wheels screaming in fearless joy like there is no tomorrow. Spinouts and curb crashes galore. This is a new thing for Braedyn and I can see it brings him more enjoyment and excitement than most adults can remember feeling (tonight I even forgot to make him wear his helmet…gasp). My initial response was… “I just want to sit and drink my wine”.  Bad father. Bad.

I gave in knowing it was the right thing to do.  After dinner I took both Braedyn and Emily out front (Emily wearing her “saaaaale” boots) so they could play with the neighborhood kids.  Emily kept asking me to say “Ready, Set…Go” which actually sounds like “eddy, sit…YO” and usually takes me three or four times to understand the game we are playing.  She kept racing an invisible challenger up and down the driveway, prompting me each time to say “Ready, Set…Go” before she would race.  Braedyn is in the street screaming in his “I’m gonna get you” voice as his Power Wheels rides up over the back of the neighbors Lighting McQueen car, nearly doing a full monster truck crush over the poor boy (who is absolutely fearless and would probably think it was cool).

At one point Emily just walks up behind me, completely out of the blue and puts her arms around me (ok, on my shoulders, daddy is big and her reach is not quite that wide) and leans up against my back.  She presses her face against the back of my head and says “Daddy, I love you”.  In the briefest moment, I felt the purest love of my child and it melted away the remaining armor from a hard days work.

I am so glad my children talked me into going outside to play.

Family matters.

FamilyPortrait

2 comments:

  1. You are an adoring father and cherished husband. Every day. All day. We love you.

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  2. Awww Greg, I'm so glad you have this to come home to. I worry about you at work. I can worry a little less now. :)

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