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I was thinking last night while I was trying to sleep. The thing I have sleeping issues, my mind is always racing a million miles per hour, with “Did I do that, was this the right spreadsheet, did I take out tomorrows dinner, do I have enough to retire”, yah and it goes on for quite some time. Eventually, I fall asleep, but that is not why I am writing this post. So, you see last night I was playing Minecraft with my 6-grade daughter and let me take you back in time for a minute.
You see my daughter was a huge surprise, 7 years after my son – that is another story. I remember friends telling me that she would have me wrapped around her little finger “Daddy’s Little Girl” they kept saying. The thing is we did have a huge connection since she was a baby. She was always waiting for me at the door when I got home from work, we read together every single night up until her fifth-grade year. Also, I love Football, and no one else in the house does, but one day when she was maybe 5, she saw me screaming at the TV and asked why I was so mad. I explained to her what I was watching, the next thing you know she sat next to me and we watched the rest of the game together. The next football game she ran to sit next to me to watch the game. She even asked questions about the game, “what is a down, what is the guy with the ball in the back called, and so on.” Well, eventually we watch football together and it was an amazing feeling. We laughed, we yelled, we shared the moment. Anyhow, so back to my last night thinking. As I was playing with her Minecraft, I realized how much our kids take after us. You see I noticed last night she was a lot like her mom when it came to dealing with problems or things she doesn’t like. Let me explain. In Minecraft, they have a game called VampireZ, and when we zone in if there are any tough players (I am sure she used another word), she immediately wants to zone out. I tell her it is ok, and that is how you become a better player, plus it is only a game, but she wasn’t having any of that, that is when I realized she was growing up.
Now it could be that she is entering the teenage years, and all the hormones I am sure are acting up, but as a father or maybe it is just me, I want her to be able to handle anything that comes her way. Life isn’t all pretty and perfect, we all have to deal with some negativity sooner or later. As kids, it is different than when we are adults, but if you learn how to deal with things, whether the result is what you wanted or not, it is an experience. These experiences prepare us for what could come next. Now, I think as parents, we would want to share our experiences and how we dealt with certain things with our children – right. I mean it might not be the exact solution but it could reduce the number of attempts the child is going through. So, it brings me to my late-night thoughts, besides all the other things that race through my mind each night. I realize that the most important thing I should focus on or think about is my family. I mean don’t get me wrong I am always thinking about their wellbeing, but sometimes I think I lose sight of what is right in front of me. I think now that I am writing this out, I am going to reconnect with my daughter, and maybe during our ventures in Minecraft I can help her deal with certain things that bother her – we’ll see.
Thanks for reading. I hope you have a wonderful Saturday, May 1st.
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