Kiss your kid this weekend

MOTHER’S DAY and Father’s Day get the glory. But there’s a Children’s Day, too.

It’s celebrated by many churches and other organizations on the second Sunday in June. That’s this coming Sunday.

Midweek I went to the homes of both of my kids, to do “father” stuff.

I was writing in my office when my daughter called at 9:53 a.m. That’s my prime time for writing. I do my best stuff in the morning and then begin to fade in the afternoon, when I switch to other work, like researching photos, making maps, or experimenting with creating Bible-related videos.

The daughter-child said she was having a rough morning, she was late for work, and the garage door wouldn’t close and she couldn’t figure out why.

The wife and I were going to go in her direction later to buy some supplies for a yard project. But we dropped what we were doing and left right away. They have things in their garage worth stealing. So we wanted to get that door closed.

One of the sensors positioned at the bottom of both sides of the doorway had gotten bumped out of alignment. I bumped it back in place, closed the door, and continued on to the hardware store.

In the afternoon the son-child called. He said he had gotten a bid to replace six broken shingles on his roof: $500.

I said, “Who do those roofers think they are? Neurosurgeons or plumbers? They think they can get by with charging that much?”

Not with my son. He was calling to see if I had tools he could borrow to do the job. I did not. I hate rooftops even worse than a boring Sunday sermon.

I knew that my son hated heights, too. But he was going to do the job anyhow because rains were predicted for the next stretch of days.

I told him I’d meet him at his house after he bought the shingles and supplies from the hardware store.

By the time I arrived, he was on the peak of his roof. The temp outside was around 95 degrees.
I made the mistake of wearing shorts. I climbed the ladder, but as soon as I put my hands on the shingles, I knew I was going to be useless. The roof was too hot for contact with bare skin. I burned the palms of my hands just climbing up the lower gables of his house. By the time my son finished the hour-long job, he would have first-degree burns on his legs even though he had worn long pants.

All I could do for him as he worked up there was stand on the ground and think about how I would break his fall if he got dizzy from the heat and passed out.

Job done without serious injury, I took him and his wife out for sandwiches and soft drinks. He drank himself through at least two refills. Maybe more. He started drinking as soon as they gave me the cups, and before the gent was finished building our sandwiches. My son was that thirsty, even after a Gatorade at home.

I’m lucky to have my kids close by. It’s 10 minutes to the daughter and her husband, and 15 minutes to the son and his wife.

We’ve got each other’s back.

My project is to dig a drainage trench to take rainwater from my downspouts and move it away from the house and out toward the road. If my son does for me what I did for him, he’ll come over and watch.

Fair’s fair.

We dads and moms get the attention on days devoted to honoring us. This weekend is the time to honor our kids.

If you’re lucky enough to have kids you love, whether they’re in a good place in their life or a stinky place, let them know you love them.

“I love you, kids. My life has been happy and satisfying thanks to you and your mom.”

If you’re unfortunate and have a toxic kid you can’t be around right now without getting sick in some way, don’t stir up trouble. Stay cool. Wait patiently. Sometimes the poison wears off and life gets back to the good place.

God gave you the kids you have. They are his gift, a reward to bless your life.

Children born to you when you’re young are as important to you as a quiver full of arrows is to an archer.

That archer is one happy fellow when his quiver is full because he feels secure. Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you when your kids have your back” (Psalm 127:3-5, Steve’s Bible Translation).

Random book winners this week

• Mak Kumler
• Jeff Smith

I give away free books each week to randomly selected subscribers to my free blog and quarterly newsletter.

Mak and Jeff are random this week.