We currently live in a relatively affluent neighborhood while Nicole works on her internship, and I be a stay at home dad. It makes going on walks a nice little treat because Michelle and I can gawk at these houses made of brick and pillars on our way back to our asbestos ridden old apartment.
Today as we were walking, a man passed us while walking his dog. He said to me “spend as much time with your kids as you can. I didn’t spend nearly enough time with mine, because I spent it all on the phone. I should have spent more time with them. You’ll have a happier life if you do.” We passed each other, and went our separate ways. I smiled at him and said something clever like “Okay. Will do.” As you can imagine, I’m a real charmer.
Now, anyone could interpret this interaction in a number of ways. I couldn’t help think three things.
First, what do you think I am doing old man? Did I steal someone else’s kid, and am hanging out with them? Or maybe I’m marketing a kid walking business. As you can clearly see, my daughter and I are spending time together.
My second thought was, if you spent all your time with your kids instead of on the phone, you’d probably be living in an asbestos ridden apartment, and not in this fancy neighborhood. You can’t have it all old man.
I then thought, wait a minute, I’m a young stay at home dad in a rich neighborhood. I can only imagine how strange it must look for me to be wondering the streets during prime business hours in my workout clothes with a toddler. I guess the assumption would be that I got laid off. But besides that, how many dads in this neighborhood worked and became wealthy while they raised a family? How many of these dads would say the exact same thing that this guy said to me? I began to feel quite fortunate to be in a situation where I can actually spend time with my kiddo. Sure, I’m not bringing in any money for our family. Sure, we spend a lot of time discussing what I’m going to do “when I grow up.” But for now, I’m really glad I have this opportunity to build a relationship with my daughter.
It was a good day to be reminded that it’s not all about how much money you make, but rather, the effort you put into loving your family. Thanks for the reminder old man.
