A Father's Love

Have you ever asked yourself what is the happiest memory you have with your father, when you felt the most loved and the most content?  

For my wife Jac, its when her dad would come home late at night with their favorite food and he would wake them up, so that they could all eat it together.

For me it was whenever I had the chance to go with my dad to the office and see him in action.  That's probably why I ended up joining and later running the business that he started.

Growing up, we never felt that they did not have time for us, nor did we feel like they were too busy to spend time with us, though we knew that our fathers needed to work hard to support the family, so being able to spend time with them was always a treat.  Now that we have families and children of our own, we still look forward to spending time with our dads.

As a father, my answer to the question about my happiest memories with my dad, tells me that love is spelled T-I-M-E.  It was how I spelled it when I was a kid and it's how my kids spell it, too today.

A father's love is those precious moments that you spend with your children, when they open up to you, when they invite you to their inner life, when they like you to listen to their dreams and aspirations...these are moments that we must cherish and are not to be missed.

We must intentionally be available for our kids.  I've often shared the fact that I like to keep my phone on silent mode through out the day, so that I can focus on my work...except for my family and especially my kids - so when I hear it ring I know that it's probably one of my kids calling and I stop whatever I'm doing to answer it.  

I know that time is an investment in the lives of my kids.  It is an opportunity not to be wasted and to be enjoyed by all dads.

Let me end by sharing with you the lyrics of the song "Cats in the cradle". It's a folk rock song by Harry Chapin that made it to the Billboard Top 100 in 1974, its a poignant story about a father and his son and the song's lyrics go like this:

My child arrived just the other day

He came to the world in the usual way

But there were planes to catch and bills to pay

He learned to walk while I was away

And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew

He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad

You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home dad?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day

He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play

Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today

I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"

And he walked away but his smile never dimmed

And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah

You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home son?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day

So much like a man I just had to say

"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"

He shook his head and said with a smile

"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys

See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home son?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away

I called him up just the other day

I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"

He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time

You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu

But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad

It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me

He'd grown up just like me

My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home son?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then 

A father's love is spelled T-I-M-E.  Thanks dad for spending time with me, I am who I am today because of your investment of time in me.