Reconnecting With Family

// May 29th, 2007 // Family Life

Sandals on the BeachWe had a great Memorial Day weekend. We packed the kids up and went out to the lake for the day on Sunday. Despite the fact that I have a great dislike for beaches (the sand gets in places where sand doesn’t belong), muddy water, and oversized rednecks in ill-fitting bikinis I had a great time. The reason I had a good time was that I had a chance to really reconnect with my family.

My family is awesome.

Not only that, but I think my family is better than yours. I’m completely nationalistic when it comes to my family. I look at other nice families and think, “Yeah, they’re pretty cool but mine is so much better.” I think my kids are cuter and smarter, my wife is hotter, and my son Owen could definitely take your sweater-vest wearing kid in a knife fight ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

We played in the bilge water like crazy people. Eliana nearly drowned twice and that only made her want to charge into the deep water even more. Poor kid sinks like a lead weight to the bottom and smiles the whole time. Kaitlyn was trying to climb me like King Kong on the Empire State Building. She would then slide down my back and several times my shorts slid down with her. This only drew respect from the locals since apparently having large portions of real estate south of your lower back in view is required. Owen just pounded everything with both fists like a crazed spider monkey and growled. The only reason he hasn’t actually killed anything yet is his 9 month old size. It’s only a matter of logistics, the desire is all there.

It struck me as I sat uncomfortably in the hot sand next to the beached oil slick redneck nearby, that it’s frighteningly easy to get distracted from what’s important. I know. Sounds like a Hallmark card. But it’s true. Heather and I have been going at full tilt for a while now. We occasionally stop to get a date, but usually those times are like two swimmers coming up for air. You feel like by the time you get home you’ve only just caught your breath in time to go back under again.

This weekend was a God-send and a lesson learned. Take time. Slow down. Your kids will give you their hearts more readily and your wife will snuggle with you at the end of the day… as long as you let her watch American Idol. Oh well. It’s a fair trade…

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