Some of My Favorite Daddy Moments

A lot of what I write about is fairly heavy, and usually very serious.  I think that it’s important in all of the seriousness to take a step back from time to time and keep things in perspective.  When I allow myself to do this, it almost undoubtedly directs my thoughts to what’s really important in my life; my children.

Lately, I’ve been concentrating on being less of a nagging parent, being more positive in my speech to my children, and picking my battles.  Recently, I took my three oldest children to the local lake to go fishing.  It was the heat of the afternoon and we didn’t have the right bait.  We were fishing from the bank, and in an area with little to no habitat where fish like to live, move, and eat.  The odds were against us.  We fished (ie: practiced their casting and reeling skills – they got pretty good!) for over an hour, then the kids took their shoes off, waded into the water, and attempted to skip rocks.  It was a blast.  I enjoyed just being there with them, with no agenda, no plans, no rules, just fun.

Now that the weather is warmer, we’ve been doing a lot of this lately.  Playing outside with bikes and scooters, spending lots of time at local parks, and so on.  What I love about this time with them is that we’re making memories.  My kids will either remember how much I worked or how much time I played with them.  I want the work to be there, obviously it has to be, but I also NEED the play time to be there as well.  We’ve also been spending more time in prayer together, which has been awesome.  I instituted a new rule… whenever we see our friend (a true prayer warrior) over at the church, which we live across from, we’re going in too.  She’s there every. single. day. and so are we now.

As summer break gets ramped up, we have plans for more baseball, swimming, bike riding, camping (I’m most excited about camping!), and even some late spring-season turkey hunting.  I hope to update everyone on those as we go.

So dads… and men who desire to be a dad someday… don’t remove the seriousness of life and don’t abdicate your responsibilities, but make time for the fun things with your kids.  I constantly hear parents of older children (ie: grandparents) talking about “how fast time flies” and “how fast they grow up.”  I don’t want to wake up one day and have missed out.  This is my only chance.

PS: speaking of being a fun dad… check out the comedian @jimgaffigan, he’s hilarious and often talks about his kids.  A father of 5, he knows how to keep it light and fun.

TrueMan up!

7 Days of Super Bowl Stuff – SBXLIV – Day 2 “Crowning a Champion”

This is my latest article on iibloom.com, posted Feb 1, 2010:

The countdown has begun; t-minus 6 days and counting until the big game. Super Bowl XLIV is upon us, one of the biggest spectacles in all of sports and entertainment. The anticipation of the game is on the minds of many sports fans across the country. The anticipation of the commercials, which might be the larger anticipation, is on the minds of television fans and of “people who like parties with lots of food.” In the end, there will be a winning team (the champions) and a losing team. It may be the team you are rooting for, it might not. 50/50. Win: go down in history. Lose: be forgotten.

It’s easy for us to get into the stereotypical (“dumb ox”) mindset when it comes to football…”ugh…me like football, mmm, smash, kill, score, win…ugh.” It’s easy to yell at the television, even though we know they can’t hear us and that the play we’re yelling about is already history. It’s easy to stuff our faces full of greasy food during any given game. It’s easy to become involved, in an unhealthy way, in the fantasy of the game. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing intrinsically evil about football, and in the right context, is perfectly normal and healthy, however, we should guard against a few tendencies that are common in our society.

1. We must realize that football is a game and has no bearing on what our goal in life should be – getting to Heaven.
2. We shouldn’t try to live (vicariously or otherwise) through our favorite football team or all-star players.
3. We should never allow football to take precedence over family time.
4. We should never allow football to take precedence over our responsibilities.
5. We should “consume” football in reasonable, moderate amounts.

Maybe football isn’t your thing, and you could care less about the Super Bowl, or the commercials. That’s fine. Substitute the worldly thing in your life that you enjoy the most for the word football in the five sentences above. (Shopping, Watching movies/television, Going to concerts, etc.)

Reporters often ask coaches what their “game plan” is and if getting to the Superbowl was in the plan from the beginning. What a ridiculous question! Of course it was in their plan, it’s every coach’s plan, and it should always be their plan as long as they’re coaching! No coach, or player, ever goes into a season playing for second-best. The goal is always to win! Liken this to our goals in life. If we go into our season without a game plan, without a set of plays and without the playbook, we’ll easily be defeated. We should go into the game of life with the goal of winning. 

Our “season” is our life. The “game plan” is our daily plan of how we’re going to grow closer to Christ. The “set of plays” are our everyday prayers, actions, choices and the Mass and our “playbook” is Sacred Scripture. If we set a goal of achieving the title of “champion” (a Saint in Heaven), we’re much more likely to be granted that salvation than if we never decide to shoot for anything in life. Set your goal towards God.

Many coaches are constantly telling their players to be humble, play hard and to not underestimate their opponents. They realize that their team isn’t perfect, while at the same time continuing to shoot for perfection. Their positive and optimistic outlook guides their team towards greatness. We should all be shooting for greatness too. God wants our best, given freely to him, in all we do. 

In the little things (hosting a Super Bowl party, being a guest at one, making comments about the plays, the calls or the commercials) during the game (and always), be aware of your words, your actions and your thoughts. A true follower of Christ never makes someone call into question his motivation, his intent or his character. Give God your very best and you’ll be crowned a champion!

Man up!