No Off Season...for dads

I missed my flight.  I MISSED MY FLIGHT!😡 With unsuccessful standbies and an overnight airport stay, it turned out to be a major headache, but also a wonderful time of reflection. I was reminded that I can't do what I do as a man (father, leader, deacon, teacher, and whatever other 'titles' I have) without help and direction. I re-realized this watching airplanes. I sat in a terminal window with the morning sun beaming through (so I could warm up) watching planes prep for takeoff.  There was a lot happening for it to be a successful flight. There were trucks moving back and forth on the ground giving planes whatever they give them. I saw food trucks distributing food. There were trucks hauling luggage to and from the plane. What really got me thinking were the trucks that push the planes from the terminal to the strip. There was a long metal guiding pole that didn't bend or flex extending from the truck to the plane. And it guided the plane out. There were also grounds

My wife & I had the h😳n😫r of taking my oldest and two friends to a week long summer camp in Pennsylvania. We were driving the Turnpike from the Boogie Down, New York after dropping my youngest to his grandmother's for a week. It felt like I had been driving all day; we drove from Maryland to Pennsylvania to pick up our youngest from camp. From there we drove  The Turnpike to New York to drop him off, saw family, got a pie (pizza) and then headed back on the Turnpike with its escalating tolls to Pennsylvania. I was pathetically busted after all the driving. The sun has gone down and we had to head back to PA. Did I say I was busted? Well, these three energetic boys ensured that I wouldn't go to sleep.  I'm flipping through stations trying to find some decent music that all of us could listen to. A song here and a song there popped up, but nothing consistent. Then my oldest says, "Dad, can I put on my music?" WARNING! DANGER! DANGER! WARNING ! Loud, blaring mu

So he finally turned 16. A monumental age no doubt. There are so many lessons to be learned during this pivotal year, especially as we prep him for college. One of the first lessons that we need to teach is how to handle money. If you're reading this and you were in college, you can remember the hundreds of Visa & American Express offers you received before you made it to your dorm room. And don't forget the many banks luring you in trying to give you free checking.  So here's a sure fire way I believe you can prepare your child on how to handle money: by you handling it well yourself. This is also known as modeling. There was a PSA commercial in the late 80's or early 90's where a boy was smoking. The dad walks in and asks the boy where he learned to do that. The boy responded, "From you dad. I learned it by watching you."  I'm amazed at how much our children mimic the things we do.  So give them something positive to mimic.  I could write so much

Have you ever been driving and you went into a daze?  Ever started to daydream as you see familiar sights?  This happened to me some days ago.   As usual, we had a fantastic time in New York visiting family and friends.  We were on our way back to Bowie, MD and just crossed over the George Washington Bridge heading south into New Jersey.  If you're familiar with that area, you know the Jersey Turnpike begins soon afterwards.  But there are a whole bunch of signs leading in a number of different directions.  I was in a fog after a long, but exciting day.  My wife was sitting in the front seat looking gorgeous and my two boys were in the back seat doing...who knows what they were doing.  Then out of the blue, my youngest said with conviction, "Daddy, you're on your way to Patterson."  Patterson was to the left and the Turnpike was to the right.  If we were to reach our destination in Bowie, MD, I would have needed to vear to the right towards the turnpike. I was he