The other day I was having lunch with my dad at a restaurant in San Carlos when I peered over and noticed a little girl (maybe 5yrs old) sitting at a table, drinking a coke and staring at her grilled cheese sandwich. She was by herself…or she might as well have been. Her dad was busy joking around with his friends at the bar, selecting songs to play on the jukebox and stepping outside for the occasional cigarette. I’m not going to sit her and say I didn’t immediately judge the situation because I did. It bothered me! Maybe this guy was the occasional “weekend parent” who has selective dates to which he can see his beautiful little girl. I would think that the time with his blessing would be better spent talking, laughing and playing versus the occasional over the shoulder look and saying “you want another coke?”
Look, maybe this was an isolated occurance. Maybe this guy won father of the year somewhere and I’m just being an A-hole for passing judgement. Could be the case right? Maybe he was selecting a sesame street song on the jukebox and his daughter told him to go drink beer and smoke cigarettes every 10 minutes while they were together. DOUBTFUL!
There is a time to be selfish and there is a time to pay attention. A daughter/father relationship is special. I want my daughter to look back on her childhood and remember playing, running thru sprinklers, spinning on chairs, and laughing until her stomach hurt…and I want her to remember that I was there to do those things together. I personally can’t think of anything worse then having my daughter grow up and say “i wish you spent more time with me when I was younger! It would be so unsettling and a true break of my heart.
My point here is that while the saying “life is short” is stated countless times every day it should go along with “time with your children is platinum!” Nothing else matters…..think about it!
Parenting on the Peninsula – The Website