Father's Day for me this year was truly special. I was
woken by the smiles of two beautiful little girls, both
giggling and holding out cards they had secretly made for me
earlier in the week. As I opened the card from my 6-year old
(the oldest), I realized her gift was much more than a card.
It was actually a small booklet that she had illustrated and
written herself. Page after page of stick figure people and
words spelt exactly as they sound.
What caught me by surprise was not just the statements of
"I love my Dad because he is strong," or the hilarious cartoon
drawing of her and I dancing under a disco ball... who knows
where that came from??, but actually a theme that I realized
only after looking back through the book. Nowhere in the book
was she thanking me for her new bike, her scooter, or the
gazillion toys she has. Instead, the booklet was filled with
drawings of her and I fishing together... me tickling her...
us playing basketball together... etc.
I realized that it was not how much I spent on
her... but how much I spent with her that she valued
most. It was my time that made her know I cared.
Her card reinforced a great lesson for me this Father's
Day; one that I hope will encourage you to look at your
relationships as well. Not just your relationships with your
kids but also your relationship with your spouse, boss,
co-workers, and friends.
Time is our most precious resources and where we choose to
invest it tells others how significant we rank them in our
lives. If we're always bypassing time with the kids, our
spouse or friends for an obsession with work or an imbalanced
pursuit of material things such as a bigger house, nicer car
or promotion... we could easily miss out on what matters most.
Your friend in kindness,
-Daniel
