Gorgeous Day with the Children

My wife and I had a special day planned for our children as they wind down their Spring Break. The children go back to school on Monday and with my pending departure next Friday we decided to make today a special day with the children. Early this morning I called both my son and daughter to our bedroom. I asked them if they wanted to go to San Diego where we could spend the day at the Children’s Museum and mess around at Balboa Park or spend the afternoon golfing with their father (me). Both children immediately spoke up and said they would like to go golfing as long as they got to drive the golf cart! So much for an educational day with the children!!

First we all went to breakfast; where we had a very nice family meal. Then the children helped me mow the lawn. They actually cleaned up the grass clippings rather well. What I have learned in the past year is my children really don't care what they are doing as long as they are doing it with either their Mother or Father and sometimes both. In essence; it only matters when we spend time with them. Time with them can be mowing the lawn but they must be included and when they are included both of them are thrilled. It doesn't matter what size their house is or how many toys they have; it only matters that Mom and Dad are there for them. It really is a very simple equation; make time matter to the children and the way to make time matter is to make the children matter.

My children certainly matter to me because I know starting next week I won't be able to have the time with them because of the horrible things I have done. I will be serving time and counting down the days to when I can be with them again. I am getting ahead of myself and I shouldn't do this. Today was a great day because I spent the entire day with my son and daughter sharing their experiences on a gorgeous day in Southern California.

After finishing mowing the lawn I took my kids to a local golf course. It is conveniently located five minutes from our house and it is the only local golf course to allow all three of us in a golf cart. It was a very warm April day and the sky was a beautiful blue as we made our way onto the golf course. My son is a fanatic when it comes to sports. He loves any sport and golf is no different. He has some natural athletic ability (not from me!!) and it will be very interesting to see how he develops later on in life but for now he has a great time no matter the sport. He knows how to set-up to the ball and more times than not he connects on some fairly good shots.

My daughter on the other hand is gifted in different ways. She is very intelligent and also very hard on herself. My son is very easy going and nothing seems to rile him whereas my daughter is much focused and she seems to put a great deal of pressure on herself. Sometimes I am amazed at the differences of my two children.

Yes, they do look like brother and sister; they both have beautiful blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes but their personalities couldn't be any more different. This difference definitely showed itself on the golf course today. My daughter took her turn hitting the golf ball and she did very well but she was more focused on driving the golf cart. My son was having a blast hitting the golf ball and running all around the golf course. We had a great afternoon and it also gave Mom time to herself. I believe my wife needed this time because life will get infinitely more difficult in the weeks to come and I hope she enjoyed a few hours to herself.

We got home had a nice family dinner. The kids took showers and both of them fell asleep within seconds of their heads hitting the pillow. I had a fantastic day and one I will cherish for a lifetime.

Speaking of cherishing for a lifetime I need to say something about a very special person in my life who never seems to get enough credit; my Mother. My mother has been nothing short of fantastic throughout this entire ordeal and I cannot say enough good things about this wonderful lady. She is one of the very special blessings in my life and I have known this for 40 years but I am finally realizing what a special person she is. The amount of love and support from her for me and my family is truly phenomenal. She is flying out next week for the sentencing and I would like to thank her so very much for all she has done for me not only this past year but for the previous 40 years; I love you very much!!