Wanna Be a Steader!

A Peek into a Man's World

A few years ago, my dh signed up for Todd Wilson's Family Man e-Newsletter after we had seen him at Ohio's CHEO homeschool convention.  Todd is one of our FAVORITE homeschool speakers and authors.  At the time, the e-mail address I use was our only one; now we each have our own, but I still use the original one.  All that to say:  Todd's e-newsletters still come to my address, so I get to read them before I send them on to my hd's e-mail.   

This week's e-newsletter was so good I just HAD to share it with you.  If you're a wife/mom, show it to your hubby.  Enjoy...

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Hey Dad,

Ahh...it’s finally cooled down a little in northern, IN. I’m telling you, it’s been hot...real hot. Praise the Lord for A/C! But even it has had a hard time keeping our 100-year-old house cool. In fact, last night the kids and I slept downstairs in the cooler part of the house (my wife is hot blooded and didn’t think it was that bad).

By the time I hit the hay, the family room floor was filled with snoozing kids so I bunked down all alone on the living room floor. It was kind of weird sleeping somewhere other than my bedroom. I did a lot more listening and thinking than usual.

Maybe it was due to the fact that it had begun lightning and thundering. I started wondering if the big trees around our house were close enough to smash through my house and which rooms it would take out...or if should I move the kids...or maybe cut down the trees.

I thought about my little kids who are not as little as they used to be...BUT are still littler than they will be one day. I wondered what the house would feel like when they are all grown up and have moved away. Thirty years from now on a hot, summer night will I sleep down on the living room floor and think about the nights when I used to do that with my kids?

That’s the kind of stuff that was bouncing through my head. After I finally fell asleep, a huge BOOM of thunder awakened me, and I heard my son Abe (5) stumbling through the darkness in search of his room.

"Come on, Abe, lie next to me," I said. Five seconds later, he was laying beside me, out like a light. Thirty seconds after Abe had hit the floor, my daughter Katherine (9) was laying beside me as well.

There I was, sandwiched between two of my favorite people in the world and glad to be in their presence...knowing that one day I wouldn’t have it anymore.

Dad, why can’t I live in those moments? Why can’t I treat those I love so much...like I love them so much? Instead, I spend much of my waking hours snapping at them or wishing they would leave me alone so I can get "stuff" done.

"God please forgive me for forgetting what’s most important. Let me live in this truth today. And may you, Dad, do the same. Amen."

Just some thoughts on a hot day in Indiana.

You ‘da dad,

Todd

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Untitled Comment

11:35, 2006-Aug-3 .. Posted by thatday

These comments are so very true. I am now the grandmother - and no longer have my children in my home - they now have their own families and their own homes.
Treasure your moments with them - they pass so very quickly.
Blessings on you and your family!
Barb