It was Easter

Sunday. Hard rain had fallen most of the day, but the sun decided to peek

through the clouds by mid afternoon.

My four-year-old

son wanted to play outside. In order to keep him out of the mud, I went

outside with him and I watched him as he worked diligently to step in

every puddle yet trying to make it look like an accident each time.

As we walked,

we talked about Easter, his t-ball game the day before, and his friends.

He told me many important things, like how our dog likes to chew on rocks

and why he would never eat a rock. He explained to me that the grass grew

because the rain went into the ground and pushed it out.

He also told

me that when he got to be a daddy, that we would be "two dads,"

but that I would be very old. He was exactly right.

He took my

hand and we walked quietly for a few minutes. He had to walk slowly because

his feet kept slipping out of his sandals.

"Benjamin,"

I said to him, "I really like it when you hold my hand."

Benjamin looked

at me and very matter-of-factly stated, "I like that, too, Dad when

you hold my hand."

There in the

dampness of the wet grass, feeling the sun on my shoulders and my son's

hand snuggly in my palm, I realized I was the richest man in the world.

I would not trade that moment for all the money in Bill Gates' bank accounts.

Benjamin was

right, of course. One of these days I will be old. Equally real is the

fact that one of these days he will be old, too. He won't need my hand

as often.

Our day started

very early. I was awake and in my office at home at 4:30am. Faintly audible

were the rumblings of a thunderstorm on its way and I knew it wouldn't

be long before the noise of the storm awoke my children.

The thunder

grew louder as the storm neared and by six o'clock, a bright flash of

lightening and a loud clap of thunder awoke my son in the room next to

my office. He called out and I went to rescue him.

"The thunder

scares me," he said. He sat in my lap, safe from the troubles of

the storm. I wish I could always find it so easy to help him ease his

troubles and fears, but life isn't that way. As he gets older he will

have to face some of his fears alone.

I don't think

we can be reminded too often that the time we have with our children is

fleeting. It seems like moments ago that I snuggled with a tiny baby in

a maternity ward our first baby who is not so small any more. She was

so little and I was so young. Now, she is an adolescent, clearly ready

to move into adulthood.

What a contrast

to see my three children together, each at a different stage of life.

I know one of these days it will be my grandchildren that I compare and

I will wonder where the years went.

Like men who

have walked on the moon, climbed Mt. Everest, and sledded to the North

Pole, I have had experiences in my life that I can never forget ones that

left an indelible impression on me. The really exceptional thing about

my experiences, however, is that they did not require extreme courage

or endurance. They only required that I notice them.

"I like

that, too, Dad - when you hold my hand." Indeed, I have all I could

ever want.

Back

to Healthwise Home Page |