Right By My Dad

     This past summer my husband worked A LOT! Yes, that's a good thing since he brings in our sole income for a family of six.  I truly appreciate what he contributes to our family, and he knows it. For the most part, the kiddos do not feel the pain of his sometimes late hours (There are a few exceptions during different times throughout the year.). The reason that this is the case is due to the fact that, when he IS home, he always makes sure that he is spending true quality time with our little guys.  As a matter of fact, he probably spends more quality time with them than a lot of dads that don't work near as often. I am very grateful for this, because it is so important to whom our kids will become as adults.
     I love  Matt's work ethic. He works hard, but at the same time is not consumed by it. When it's time to play, he plays. I think many adults often forget how important this is, myself included.
     He also loves building projects and in his "spare time", last summer, he decided to begin working on a sand box. I would probably call it more of a sand house. "Go big or go home" is definitely his motto when it comes to projects. Silas was playing inside when he asked where his daddy was. I told Silas that Daddy was outside working. A few minutes later, Silas had his outside clothes on and was heading out the door. I looked at him and, in his most serious voice, he said, "If you need me, I'll be outside working right by my dad."
     Now I know that may not be such an uncommon occurrence, but there was something about the way he said it. I could see that he was proud of his dad. It was like nothing else mattered nor would it compare to the time he was about to spend working with his dad. Here are a couple of pictures. Yes they are even working in the rain!

 

Matt said he never complained, even though his little bucket of sand was heavy. He just kept dumping and reloading.

 

 

 

 

He was so proud, and so was his Daddy! I hope twenty years from now that I can look out of the window and witness the same thing. Except maybe it will be Matt helping Silas build a sand house for his son, who is happily working hard beside them!