An Almost Missed Opportunity – Part 1

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Being a dad is hard. At some point your kids will ask you to come play with them – whether it’s throwing the ball, playing video games, tea party, or checking out the latest viral video and sharing a laugh. It will happen.

However, you might be like me and always feel bogged down with your honey-do list or chores or work. When you have a chance to make a good memory playing with your kids, here’s what Papa says: don’t miss out on the opportunity to make that good memory with your kids.

I have come to realize that these instances happen in my life almost every single day. With four kids, they all want my time and attention (thankfully!). I almost messed up and missed out on one of these opportunities just the other day.

The opportunity

It was a warm evening in late March here in Georgia. I had just wrapped up work for the day and I was intently focussed on getting yard work done since we were having company over for the weekend. My mind was consumed with: get the mower working, mix fuel and oil for the string trimmer and blower, reload the string on the string trimmer, get the chainsaw working, saw up the stump by the driveway, clean around the swing set, etc… What was NOT going through my head was playing with my kids.

Right when I started to work on the yard, my 6 year-old son ran over to me. “Papa, can you please play baseball with me?” Without hesitation my response was literally: “No – I can’t spend time with you, I have too much work to do.” Once I heard those words come out of my mouth I felt like I was hit by a train in my spirit.

The turning point

I knew this was a moment where I could crush my kid’s opportunity for a memory, or make a really good one for him. I decided to drop my yard tools right where I stood and went with my son out into the yard with a bat and a ball. I gave my boy a few tips on how to stand with the bat and how to swing, and he was so happy to play that he listened well and was actually really good at hitting the baseball when I threw it to him.

To this day my son still likes to remind me of that night where he made good contact with the ball. I did not get all the yard work done that night, and it remained undone when our company arrived. I was able to use the unfinished work as a discussion pivot to tell our company about how I spent time with my son that week and taught him to hit a baseball.

How about you?

Have you missed out on opportunities to make an awesome memory with your kids? Are you like me and have your priorities messed up from time to time?