chasing answers newsletter #74
A morning well spent
“The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.” - O.A. Battista
Happy Halloween!
“Dad, can you snuggle with me tonight?” my daughter asked as she rolled over, threw her arm across my abdomen, and rested her head on my chest.
“Yes, babe, I’ll snuggle you.”
I reached over and grabbed my phone off the nightstand.
With blurry eyes, I read the large white digits.
4:56
It wasn’t nighttime any longer. It was morning. My alarm was going to go off in four minutes.
This is how my day began early this morning.
I get up at 5:00 AM 95% of the time. Saturdays and Sundays included. It is when I get my things done - workouts, reading, writing, walks with my camera, and anything else I want to do. It allows me to do these things and still be absolutely present with my family and spend as much time with them as possible.
The last few weeks, I have struggled to find time to write. October is a busy month at work, so even my early mornings were often spoken for. It is when all departments prepare their budgets for the following year. Every budget runs through me. You can imagine the excitement.
Because of this, I haven’t written anything in three weeks. Not a sentence.
I had plans of getting up this morning and finally tackling a topic I’ve been thinking about for a while. I knew we had a packed day today, so I pulled up all my notes on the topic last night before bed so there would be no wasted time this morning. Then I laid down in bed with my wife and my daughter to watch a movie. It had been a fun day of dressing up in Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating. We had all eaten too much candy, and I think I was the first to crash from my sugar high. My guess is my wife was next because she hadn’t bothered to take my daughter to her room.
I looked back at my phone.
4:57
I unlocked it, went to the clock app, and turned my alarm off.
I don’t know when my daughter will ask me to snuggle with her for the last time, but just in case it was this morning, I wasn’t going to miss it.
For the next two and a half hours, I listened to each of her breaths and watched her head rise and fall with each of mine. When she woke up, she turned her head, looked into my eyes, and then wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
Photo(s) of the Week
I know one day, she will leave to travel down her own path. Thank goodness that day wasn't today.
I hope you all have a great week!
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randy
Randy, you’re the best.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
May this echo for your life.
Randy, you know I can't resist your pieces that involve your daughter and your example of fatherhood. This one was especially warming to read though. Remembering that everything will come to an end, even those nighttime/morning snuggles makes us more present for them now. Thank you for the beautiful reminder.