Everything

             I have made a decision. I have decided to give my children everything. I see others doing it. Why can’t I? I have made up my mind; I will provide my children with everything I can no matter what I have to sacrifice personally. After all, I almost get as much enjoyment from it as they do. I think I will pull out all the stops. Why stop at what everyone else does for their children? I want my kids to have the best. That means I have to be incredibly creative and competitive to keep up with what the Jones’ are giving their children. I see brand new sports cars, credit cards, cell phones, whatever clothes they want to wear, and some with absolute freedom. What kind of man would I be if I let that scare me? I am as good of a parent as they are, right? You’re right I am! I am not going to let my kid be out done, am I? No way, this is war! No limits, no holds barred, no retreat, and no surrender. I didn’t have enough when I was growing up, so I figure I don’t want one of my kids to look back and say they did not have everything they wanted. Besides, what would that say about me? Yup, I’m determined and resolute. I will give my kids everything, for example…

            Confidence: I don’t mean that chinsy stuff that comes from clothes that are out of date within a couple of weeks or a car that every Tom, Dick, and Harry now owns. No sir, I will spare no expense, I mean the real stuff that comes from the inside. I mean self-esteem that is tangible. I want my kids to know they mean something. Not just to me but to the Father of all creation. I want them to find fulfillment in being what they were created to be. I want them to feel beautiful and strong, inside and out. Every other kid in their school will be running crazy to try and keep up with every fad that swings their way. If I am going to compete then I need to give them an idea of what really matters by showing them everyday what is most important for our family. The down side is that it is probably going to cost me about an hour of television a night in order to have real conversations with them. Oh well, I said I would sacrifice in order to keep up.

            Love: hey, not some run of the mill, I work five jobs to buy you that four hundred dollar sweater junk. I’m talking the big-leagues baby. If you want to hang with the heavy hitters then you got to bring the heat. I mean taking time off to spend days, not hours, days with my kids. I’m talking waking up with them in the morning, putting them to bed at night, rolling in the floor 24/7 kind of crazy love. Hey, don’t think it can stop there. I am no fool; I know the competition is stiff. That is why I want to teach them to love others too. I want them to see the kind of love that comes from putting your whole life into serving others. You know what I’m talking about, the kind of love that never stops getting out of hand. I want them to feel it so they can give it and give it so they can feel it.    

            Responsibility: pulling this one off may cost me more than I ever wanted to pay. I want them to have the best though so here I go with sheer extravagance. I will have to refrain from jumping down the throat of every teacher, coach, guidance counselor, and parent of a friend that happens to disagree with my child. I will have to ask that my kids own up to the mistakes that they make and ensure that they understand other peoples’ points of view. I don’t know what I will do with all of the afternoons otherwise spent bashing coaches that didn’t want to play my son or teachers that didn’t believe my daughter when she told them aliens abducted her homework. If I am going to pull this one off I am going to have to ask my kids to ask of themselves. I didn’t expect to pay so much to give everything to my children but looking at them I believe they are worth it.

            Patience: I watch all of the other parents zooming past me on the way to baseball, basketball, ballet, trombone lessons, swimming, football, gymnastics, a play date, and math tutoring. I know because I can’t see through the rear windshield for all the cute little window clings plastering it. Don’t think for one minute that I am not up to the challenge. I just don’t have a very big window. Nonetheless, I am still in the fight. It’s time to get nasty. They want to get faster and faster, to do more and more. I want my kids to have the ability to slow down. You wouldn’t think this would qualify as a virtue but nowadays it seems to be an endangered occasion. I want them to have time to think and feel and talk to me and their mom about those things. I may never have a great collection of window decals but I am hoping the memories of something a little more meaningful than the steering wheel, a happy meal, and a built in DVD player will have to do.

            Work ethic: here it is what my kids always wanted and never asked for. Isn’t that the best gift of all? The one you lay awake the night before because you just can’t wait to see their faces when they get it. Well this is the one. I think I’ll go for the deluxe model though. I think my little ones are well worth the upgrade. I want to go beyond sticking them out in the backyard with a lawnmower. I want them to have the kind that has the value of the home built right in. The one that has the desire to be a good father and mother placed over the desire to be a good employee. I want them to learn to work hard at family and at being a good spouse. I want them to know the value of building a great house never outweighs the value of building a great home. The cost for me is that even though they may have it, I may not get see their faces the moment they get it.

            I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me. The competition isn’t going to let up either. Every time they up the ante I’ve got to be ready to call the bluff. The fight is fierce and there are some real serious contenders out there. Still, I’m not going to back down. I can give as much as they can. I can sacrifice as much as I need to so my kids can have everything. The greatest sacrifice I could make is the sacrifice of buying my kids every X-box, Barbie Jeep, Game-boy, TV/VCR combo, mini-motorcycle, or every other “must have” of the season. No, the truth is that if I am going to give them everything that I can then I have to refrain from buying them everything that they want. They say, “The more that you get; the more that you want.” What if after I give them confidence, love, responsibility, patience, and a work ethic they never stop wanting more? Perhaps that should be my prayer all along.