January 6/13
It is currently 1:05 AM and I'm still up trying to get some cash flow forecasts done for work and submission to the new corporate overlords later this morning.
Now many might ask why I didn't work on these over the weekend and that would have been optimal but my son is facing two key tests this week in science and math so we've spent the weekend working on that and I put off this task until after he went to bed.
I could have run into the office earlier and run my data dumps but my son asked me if I wanted to watch a movie with him since we hardly got to spend any "real" time together given all the math he was doing, and by extension I was doing as well lol.
So we watched a couple of the Walking Dead and spent a couple of hours just chatting and goofing around - the perfect end to a very long weekend for both of us.
Now when he got ready for bed he did something he hasn't done in almost a year and asked me if I'd rub his back as he fell asleep. How could I refuse this request as it brings back so many awesome memories of him as a little guy all snuggled up and slowly drifting off to sleep as he got either his mom or I to rub his back - this trait must be in my kids DNA as his sister was the exact same way when she was little.
As he lay there he smiled up at me so I leaned over and kissed the top of his head and told him how proud I was of him for all the work he put in this weekend getting ready for the tests and his response was to smile even more. I walked to the door and went to leave his room to get started on my own work when he rolled over and said the following to me "Dad, when you tell me things like that it really gives me a boost inside, thank you" and than rolled back over and snuggled down under the covers.
Now I don't know about you but hearing things like that from my children always makes me feel a tear as my only job in life is to get them ready for life and make sure they feel good inside about themselves. Based on this comment and one his sister made to me on Christmas day as we waited for several hours in the Queensway Carleton emergency room to get her hands looked at really made me realize that while there are times I may not feel like I'm getting ahead in life, especially in my search for the one, I'm far more successful in the parent department than I ever thought possible.
It is easy to verbalize when we don't like something our kids have said or done but the energy it takes to do that far surpasses that required to say "Great job", "Well done", "I knew you could do it" and the feelings you'll impart to them will pay dividends down the road far more than any investment you'll make.
I wish my own parents had been as quick to praise as they were to condemn when I was growing up. Maybe that is why from day one my approach to parenting been to take the opposite tact from what I think my parents would have done in a similar situation.
I challenge each of you to try this with your own kids and should you not have any at home, than try it with your partner or a co-worker, bet the results make you feel good inside.
Marcus
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