A Day in the Life with my Dad. by David Brown

My parents did all sorts of things right.  I'm thankful for more great lessons and memories than should be allowed.  If you are like me, and by like me, I mean in your late 30's to early 40's, you grew up in a simpler time when playing hide and seek at dusk was as technologically advanced as our playtime got.  After school, we'd spend our time actually building relationships with our parents in activities we were involved, like with mom at the Moose lodge public pool, or with dad coming home from work and pitching in slacks and a tie in our pickup neighborhood baseball game.  There are tons more experiences than these, but there is 1 in particular I wanted to highlight.

When I was about 11 years old, my dad took me to work with him.  For that day, I saw where my dad spent 9 hours a day, 5 and 1/2 days a week as the President of a Bank.  I sat in his chair, arms stretched out over his desk, interacting with his secretary over the intercom, listening in on very important phone calls, and walking the halls of the bank with my dad as others showed their respect to his presence.  My dad let me into his world that day, and in doing so proved how proud of me he was.  That day especially clearly, I remember being so very proud of my dad too.

Including your kids into a part of your life that takes up so much of your time and thought life should be required coursework for parents and children.  It's more than okay to show your children who you are outside of the home, in fact, it will open up a whole new dynamic in your relationship with them, which is the point of it all.  Thank you dad for taking me to work and validating me in ways I still don't fully understand.  I'm proud of you more today than ever, and I love my parents for what they did right!

David Brown
Executive Director
Family Vision Ministries
www.Family-iD.com