Kites taught me a lot about being a dad.

I had the privilege of taking my wife and children to a local kite festival over the weekend. It was a beautiful day. There was just enough wind to make all the kites fly effortlessly in the sky. There were big kites, small kites, strange kites, and some really cool kites. My favorite was a huge dragon kite. There were craft vendors and food vendors everywhere. We finally made our way to the tent where they were giving away kites to all the children who didn't bring their own. I'm not a big kite enthusiast so we didn't have our own kites. I enjoy watching other people fly kites but I'm not really into flying my own. But that being said, my two older girls, a 4 year old and one who will be three in a couple of months, wanted to fly their kites. So, I bit the bullet and started to try to fly their kites. Now, I mentioned earlier that there was just enough wind to fly a kite when we got there but when it was time to fly our kites the wind was almost non-existent. I knew this was going to be tough but I tried nonetheless. Try as I might, the wind was just not cooperating. I looked at my 4 year old and the look of disappointment was almost unbearable. She was so excited but I just couldn't get the kite to fly. I apologized to her but it did very little to comfort her. She was so excited and now I was not able to fulfill the expectations that she had. I felt horrible. "I'm her father. I am going to get this kite flying or die trying." This was exactly the thought running through my mind. I started running back and forth, back and forth trying so hard to get the kite to get started. Nothing. But something happened while I was running. Both of my older daughters were running behind me laughing. I couldn't get the kite to stay up but they were having a blast running with me and trying. They were satisfied with that. We ran around for a while and then they were done. They were happy that I had tried. The disappointment that they had at the beginning wasn't even a memory anymore. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I don't have to succeed at everything to be a hero to my girls. I am a hero for trying and most of the fun of the journey is the journey itself. I may let my children down because I just cant do something but I will do my best to make sure I never disappoint them to the point that they remember it. If they do remember, then I will have done something horrible that I may never be able to undo. Do your best for your children. That's really all they want. They don't want the best that the world has to offer. They want you. I remember my childhood. The best memories of my mom and dad are when we were together. I don't remember the things I had or didn't have. I remember my parents always being their for me. They always did their best. Lord, help me to be that way with my children. I don't miss my parents because of what they could give me. I miss them because of who they were. Parents, just be there for your children. I learned that's really all they want. Have a blessed day.

LW