| Guest Post | Nathan Foster |
I can’t begin to describe the intimate connection I feel when I think of my kids. I never knew I could love this much.
Yet I’m not really a very good father. Can I admit that I’m easily distracted and often get bored when I hang out with my kids? In spite of my persistent desire to wake them up at night because I miss them, in spite of the butterflies I get when I stare at them, sometimes I can’t handle more the 15 minutes of running around the park or playing hide and seek.
I often wonder what is wrong with me that after a couple of hours of watching my kids I’m anxious to run away.
I’m sure it doesn’t help that it seems like I always have work to do and my schedule is so flexible that I can almost always take time off. Or, that I’ve become horribly addicted to technology. I hold in my pocket the wonders of the Internet, emails, and texts. At any given moment I’m only seconds away from a hit of global communication. So I trade the absurdity of reading a twitter feed for gazing at the wonder of childhood and the insatiable laugh of my children.
I’m not writing today to judge myself, but rather explore some solutions. I don’t have much but a couple of simple ideas.
I wonder what others do to stay engaged with their families?
You got any ideas for me?
I’m sure it doesn’t help that it seems like I always have work to do and my schedule is so flexible that I can almost always take time off. Or, that I’ve become horribly addicted to technology. I hold in my pocket the wonders of the Internet, emails, and texts. At any given moment I’m only seconds away from a hit of global communication. So I trade the absurdity of reading a twitter feed for gazing at the wonder of childhood and the insatiable laugh of my children.
I’m not writing today to judge myself, but rather explore some solutions. I don’t have much but a couple of simple ideas.
- Rather than trying to be Super Dad for half a day, if I take small bits of time it’s easier. Can I be really present for the next ten or thirty minutes?
- Do activities that we both enjoy (reading, trampoline, biking) instead of always trying to engage in intimidating imaginative play.
- Leave the phone and computer alone.
You got any ideas for me?
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Nathan Foster is assistant professor of social work at Spring Arbor University (Spring Arbor, Michigan). He has been a counselor and founded/directed Door of Hope Counseling (Arvada, Colorado). He is married and has two children. Nathan is also the author of Wisdom Chaser (Intervarsity Press - April 2010). You can keep up with what Nathan is working on at www.nathanfosterprojects.com. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also reach him at wisdom[dot]chaser[at]yahoo[dot]com.
Nathan Foster is assistant professor of social work at Spring Arbor University (Spring Arbor, Michigan). He has been a counselor and founded/directed Door of Hope Counseling (Arvada, Colorado). He is married and has two children. Nathan is also the author of Wisdom Chaser (Intervarsity Press - April 2010). You can keep up with what Nathan is working on at www.nathanfosterprojects.com. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also reach him at wisdom[dot]chaser[at]yahoo[dot]com.
