Bring Back Big Families

Rare and random two post day. It must be Christmas!

My oldest performed Christmas songs with her choir at a local pizza place. They sang six or seven (sorry. I couldn’t help myself) songs, and as they were singing, I couldn’t help but notice a dad in front of me on his phone the entire time (he was right in front of me in my peripheral vision the entire time). I saw him look up from his phone one time during the whole performance. Once. Over seven songs.

The one time he did look up, I could tell his daughter smiled a little extra. Probably because her dad was actually paying attention.

So, what was he doing for the 23 minutes they performed that was so important he couldn’t possibly put his phone away or use it to video his daughter singing?

Playing a video game. If ever there was a time for a face palm emoji, this would be it.

I’m not necessarily judging. I don’t know his life. But I know being a dad, and that’s not how you do it.

The reaction on his daughter’s face when she was actually being noticed by her dad was incredibly noticeable. I was hoping he would notice. Be he didn’t. He went right back to his game.

This is my challenge to all dads reading this (really all parents): be present. I get the allure of just being for a few minutes. I really do. I live an incredibly stressful life, so I get just being.

But when your kid is performing or playing a sport or doing anything you should be watching, watch. Don’t play on your phone. Take pictures and videos, sure, but be present when they need you most. It’s a simple thing that your kids notice, even if you think they don’t.

So that’s it. Just be present. You only get so many chances to see them do things like this. Savor them and just be present.