Really cool video...

Here's a video my dad sent me...really cool. Wait for the end.

Parenting with the end in sight

It is not really true that time goes faster as we get older, but it sure seems that way. I can not believe how fast this year has gone. My wife and I have been married for four years and our little boy is already pushing his first birthday. Now there's another one on the way, and as of this fall, I will have been working at my job an entire decade.
Tonight, as I watched one of those "night time dramas", I saw an old man crying over his dead child who was a senior citizen himself, and it suddenly hit me - I'm watching the end of life. Fictional? Yes, but realistic. As I contemplated the plight of this fictional parent, I thought of my own children. They will grow so fast. I will look away and tomorrow send them to college. I will blink and tomorrow give them away to a spouse. I will nod, and they will give me grand children. Then, sooner than later, we will say "goodbye", and my opportunities to spend time with them will be over. As I think of that day, I suppose the best parenting wisdom I ever received was from my own grandfather. He unknowingly taught me the best way to live is with the end in sight. For if I see the end, the roadmap will be clear, and I will have no regret.
I often think about my grandfather, Poppy. He was one of those people that just could not say a simple "goodbye" when you were ready to leave his house. It was a process. If you wanted to leave at 4, you started saying goodbye at 3. If you needed to be somewhere, by all means give yourself plenty of time. He was not inconsiderate. He just loved to talk to you, he loved to be with you. He did not want your time together to end. When you stood up to leave, he would say "Awww now, what's your hurry? Sit a while longer." I often left his house frustrated because I gave in and stayed longer than planned. I would get irritated at myself and him that I could not just say “goodbye” and leave. As I would pull away though, he would be standing there, visible in my rearview mirror, smiling and waving as I drove off. My heart would melt. I couldn't stay frustrated. By the end of the road it would hit me, “Someday you're gonna wish you could see him just one more time, but you will not be able to, ‘cause he'll be gone." Poppy knew something it took me a while to learn - make the most of every moment, live with the end in sight. Funny thing, now that he is really gone, I miss him, but have no regret. Even funnier, I can not think of a single thing I missed because I stayed a few extra minutes. I spent the time I could. I loved him like it was the last time I would see him, because I knew that last day would eventually come.
With my own children, I'm trying to live with the end in sight. Every parent can testify: "They don't stay little for long." I'm taking this to heart. I am cherishing every laugh, tickle, hug, cry, and cough. I’m trying to remember every smile, stumble, giggle...and very soon, I’ll teach them, talk to them, and pray with them every time I have the opportunity. Why? Because I know someday, there will be no more opportunities, and there will be only memories. I will wish for another day, but it will not be there, because one of us will be gone. That's ok. It's the way it should be. I just want those memories to be good...right...loving...and godly. From my short experience, I know that making the most of every opportunity does not happen by chance. I will have to do this by plan and on purpose, but I know it will be worth it. Aside from hearing my Lord say, "Well done..." The best thing I can ever hear is my children saying, "I could always count on my dad. I’m glad he made the most of our time together."
It is good to say that about Poppy.
It is nice to say that about my own parents too.
I hope to continue the tradition.
Psalm 90:12 "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."