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...

I feel like I need to boast on my boys. It's nothing that I have done: it is all to the glory of God. But man, I'm extremely proud of them. My oldest son recently took his faith to another level and was baptized.  Again, I know it's nothing I've done, but it's to the glory of God.  And then I watched my youngest son serve  at his school function. He found joy in helping others. He has always had a very compassionate heart.  Again, I don't think there's anything that I haven't done, but to the glory of God.  They are maturing. They are growing up and growing up fast. They're starting to show that they have their own mind and conscience. I'm proud of them. What I need to make sure that I do is tell them how proud I am of them. And not just one time, but many times. Just some thoughts. I am N0S.

It was a beautiful day. We just left a friend's house celebrating their son's  high school graduation.We are in our Toyota Highlander heading home for the evening on 495. Cruising around 55 miles an hour, with no worries and no cares. Out of the blue, a huge deer runs in the middle of the highway and runs smack dab on the right side of the car. I did not see it until it was right there. It hit us so hard, we lost control of the car. We killed the deer instantly; I watched it slide on its side from the middle lane all the way over to the median.  I swerved to the left and I swerved to the right trying to regain control. At this moment God gave my wife a sense of calm and she told me, "Relax". We gained control and pulled over to the side of the road. The entire front right side was jacked up! The car was undrivable.  What's the point? I don't know if there is ever a moment in our life, especially in parenting, that I should get comfortable. In fact if life is c...

It was almost this time last year I wrote about how my boys would rather go outside, or play on the Wii, or sweep instead of reading a book.  Please, don't get me wrong.  They are highly intelligent kids who do very well in school.  They just believe (as probably do many other kids) that the summer is a time to chill.  Well, the books are back.  Due to higher grade levels, their books are becoming more complex in ideals, focusing on the author's purpose, allegories, and a whole bunch of other facets of literature that I don't need to get into now. Each day, I've challenged my boys to read.  They have to...and they don't want to.  It can be a challenge in the house. Well, I had this challenge yet again today.  My son had to read aloud to me.  He read in the most dismal voice imaginable, inducing thoughts of wanting to consume raw red onions and chase them with garlic cloves and prune juice. Then, brilliance came to mind. 'Dijon, why n...