I never babysit my children.
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Cassandra left at 7:15 this morning and got home just after 6 pm. She took the opportunity to travel three hours from our home to the Louisville, Kentucky temple with some friends.
This meant I was solely responsible for our five children. I will toot my own horn for just a moment by saying that I am a very hands on and engaged father already, so this wasn’t some momentous occasion or task.
But with that said, this morning was the first time that I have had to bundle all five of our children into the car to get the oldest two to school. It was the first time that I had to return to school with the younger three to register our daughter for kindergarten, all while the rain was pouring down in West Virginian style.
Whenever I am left shouldering the responsibility of parenting alone, I have a few thoughts that come to my mind. The first is that I realize how easy it is to become complacent and then fail to recognize and express gratitude for all the big and seemingly small things your spouse does every day.
The second thought is one that I heard an older and wiser friend of mine share with me once in passing. He related a story to me of how some other men joked about him having to babysit his kids, to which he responded to them, I don’t babysit my own kids, what I am doing is called fathering.
I loved this response. Babysitting is what we pay teenagers to do so we can go out on date night. What I did today was called being a father. They are my children, my responsibility and my privilege.
I refuse to believe that a child would be better off without a father. Whilst Cassandra and I bring different ideas, strengths and innate qualities to the table, neither of us is any less essential in the lives of our five children. They need us both.
Today went surprisingly smoothly. For which I am most grateful. I made it a point to try and not use technology and as a result I spent time playing and reading books. I even grabbed a ten-minute power snooze whilst putting my son down for his nap.
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If you can sneak a nap in while watching the kids, you’re parenting right.