Missing Out

I'll Have An Order of Whine, Please
Just Add Kids welcomes Toby Mueller, a Raymond dad, as JAK's guest blogger

I was out a local store this past week with my youngest daughter. My oldest has just started school so I was enjoying the 50% reduction in my tolerance and alertness for certain attitudes when both of the girls are together. It is much eaisier to contain one rather than two.

My daughter was being quite loud and talkative for such an early hour (it was about 8:30) and clerk at the checkout noticed. Now, I do not know this person or what type of parent she is, but she made a comment that made me think. A lot! Read More...I said to my daughter, with clerk overhearing, something like, "Wow, for getting up just a short time ago, you are really loud." The clerk then said, "My kids were like that too and I don't miss that at all."

Now, at first, that may not seem like a big deal. But, if you are honest with yourself and think about it, it is a big deal.

Kids need parents that don't miss those things in their life. The loudness, the teaching times, the "I am crying because I am tired" times. As parents, we need to go through those times to bond and remember. And likewise, parents need to miss and long for those things as the kids move on to start their lives.

I admit that I don't like some of those times at the time I am going through them. But, when I look back at pictures or when I review my day, I will miss those times when my daughter and I are not together. So take the time not to miss out on those times in life.

About Toby: In addition to joining the Just Add Kids community as a guest blogger and JAK dads group administrator, Toby is a Stay At Home Dad (SAHD) raising two daughters and frequent contributor on the Caledonia Patch website.  You can catch the above commentary and more of his insights here: http://caledonia.patch.com/users/toby-mueller/blog_posts.