Today, it’s time to celebrate all the dads in our kiddos’ lives – and anyone who shares dad love and dad energy with them. Father’s Day gives us a chance to recognize them for all of the care, compassion, effort, and dad role-modeling they’re doing for our little ones. Jeremy Smith, the fearless leader of Mindful Return’s Working Dad Course, joins us on the blog today to share a *really* important message about the time we have with our little ones.
Happy Father’s Day to all of you in this community who are celebrating this weekend, and here’s Jeremy:
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Time.
We never have enough. It moves too slow. It moves too fast. With my kids now 9 and 7, a harsh reality is setting in this Father’s Day. My time with them is finite and it is flying.
There will come a point in the alarmingly near future where our Friday Night movie nights are replaced. 6:30 Saturday morning donut runs will cease. And nobody will call me ‘Coach’.
The walls will be filled with more vacation photos, and I will swell with pride when they win awards and pass life milestones. But they will choose to be alone more often, or with friends. The demands on their time will increase and the swingset will sit idle. Decisions on which toys to put out at the garage sale will be made easier. Things will change.
My wife and I have a phrase we use when frustration peaks; “Don’t wish this away. Someday this will be gone and we will give anything to relive these days.” The point of which isn’t to make you cry. It is to remind us that life is always lived in the present. To remind us that we must enjoy things as they are. Right now. Not how we wish they were. Not how they used to be. And not how they might be in the future. To live these parenting moments as deeply as we can.
The demands on parents are brutal. There is never enough time. Things that are important to us as individuals are the first to fall off the schedule. But I hope you won’t let that stop you from making a summer family bucket list or staying late at the pool because “5 more minutes” is never enough. There is always enough time to surrender to a moment and be grateful. I’m convinced that those are what we will cherish 40 years from now, but we get to – and we have to – live them first.
Happy Father’s Day to the Dads and thank you to the Moms.
– Jeremy
Jeremy Smith is a father to two amazing & rambunctious kids, ages 9 and 7. After taking two extended paternity leaves, Jeremy teamed up with Lori to create the Working Dad Course. He feels strongly that everyone should be empowered to seek out both the time and flexibility they need, to succeed in their most important roles as parents. Jeremy and his wife Caryn currently reside in Wilmington, Delaware, where he works in the financial services industry.
Want more practical tips on working parenthood? Check out my book, Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave
