29 Oct 2007, Posted by Lance in General, No Comments.

There Goes My Life

My wife and I got married young and "ran away" to get out of our small
rural town to a large city on the west coast. It was here that I was
going to stake my claim and do something great. I was going to retire
young and live my life famous and happy.

However within the first year of our marriage I was in Thailand and got a call from my young bride, "I’m pregnant."

At first I didn’t know what this meant but I soon learned. Less
money, no personal time, babysitters, no more carefree life and running
off when we felt like it.

Those first few years I fell like all my dreams were over and I was now stuck in some mediocre sitcom.

I always said that because I grew up without a father, I was going to
be a good one to my kids, up to this point I was nowhere close to this
standard.

After some life changing events, I had a change of heart and started to learn of the great importance and task I had as a father.

This weekend I was driving my daughter home from horseback riding
lessons, just dad and daughter hair blowing in the Jeep. My daughter
was excited because she had had a new instructor today, a young woman
who was not married but had "her own horses and lot’s of cats."

"I’m not going to have kids when I grow up so I can have horses and live free." she said.

I then pulled the Jeep over and told my daughter that having children
was the most exciting and rewarding thing that I have ever done in my
life. I have done things and gone places that I would never have got
to if I wasn’t a parent to her. I then began to tell her that because
of her and her brother, I have become a better person and closer to
God. All because of her and her brother in my life.

It’s times like these when the real life lessons come into clear focus,
we just have to be aware when they do and be able to act on them.

This incident reminded me of a great song and video by Kenny Chesney, watch this and see if you can relate in your own life. There Goes My Life