Just Boys

I took the day off today. Recently, I have been feeling guilty about not spending a lot of quality time (I really hate that phrase) with my son. So today we spent a lot of time together.

I got a new radio installed in the Jetta. This was my Christmas present from Michelle. The new radio allows me to plug my ipod into it, and the radio controls it. The sound is awesome. My boy loved checking out all the radios, speakers, amplifiers, and DVD players. During the installation, we headed over to Panera Bread to get a cup of coffee and some hot chocolate; just us guys.

Afterward, we went to the paintball store to pick up some ammo. Again, seeing guns, ammo, body armor, etc. from a 7 year old's perspective is amazing. "Dad! look at this one! Dad! check this out!"

On the way home, we stopped and picked up Michelle's Christmas present. He was so exicted when he found the Christmas bag with the alarm on it: "STOP! you are trying to peek into this bag! STOP!" How funny is that? Michelle is not as amused.

Later on, we went to the gym, and I taught my son how to play racket ball. So much fun!

Now, we are sitting at the table, catching up on our homework.

It amazes me how calm and "chilled out" my son gets after a good day of "boy stuff". Its days like this that continually remind me that this was how God designed it: boys, hanging out with their dads on a daily basis. You can see it in his personality when we get too busy, and he and I don't get some one on one time. He gets a little cranky, and starts pushing the rules that he already knows are there.

But this is so hard to do, especially when you work the way that I do, which puts you across the world periodically. Making time for them(kids) is the most important thing we can do as parents. I know its hard, because sometimes we just need a break. But we need to. We need to wrestle. We need to play racket ball. We need to make destroyer ships out of legos and break them apart. We need to just watch Animal Planet and chill sometimes.

Today, was a great reminder of that, and I am very thankful for it.