Are you truly available for your children?

Laying in my bed, I hear a child laughing outside. In between the laughs, he coughs and then laughs again. In my mind, the picture forms. He is about three years and before going to school every morning, he plays outside with his dad.

They kick a ball and chase each other in the compound. Precious moments, priceless memories. In another scene, the father walks to the graduation podium to receive his doctorate degree and the child screams from the audience, “congratulations daddy.”

Pleasantly surprised, the father displays a hearty smile and makes the heart sign to the child. He then says, “I love you” and the child screams in response, “I love you daddy.” How heartwarming!

These seemingly trivial gestures between two the fathers and their sons caught my attention and got me teary.  Oftentimes, I reflect on the relationship I have with my children.

Am I truly available to my children? In a world where it is so easy to be engrossed in work and the desire for more and more success, am I really in touch with my children and their individual worlds?

Recently, I watched a clip where a cleric admonished parents to remember that their true friends in the world are most especially their children. He said everyone else will usually want to be a friend, because they need or want something from you. Only your children like you for who you are. Their love is pure, with no strings attached. Sobering thought! Reality check!

Here is the thing. How available am I for everything that I see as valuable and important?! Is it not funny how some of the things that mean so much now will be absolutely inconsequential to our lives three or five years from now?

What was important three years ago? Is it still important? How old was my son three years ago? In fact, that time, whenever he needed to talk to me, he looked up. Today, when we are both standing, he looks down at me, smiling heartily at the change.

May we truly learn to separate the precious from the vile. To truly understand and appreciate what is eternal from the things whose value will fade away and change like the weather. May we truly be available and deliberately make time to create valuable moments and memories. To be there and add value to those that truly matter in our lives.

A time will come and it may not be too far from now, when all you will carry in your heart are the memories of the priceless moments you had with the people that really mattered to you.