I subscribe to a lot of blogs.  Most of them are about leadership and topics related to leadership.  But I subscribe to some that have nothing to do with leadership at all.  (Or, at least, that is what it thought.)

My niece, Ashley Barnette is an active blogger, a wife, a mother, a college professor, and probably a bunch of other stuff that I don’t know about.  And this week she wrote an article entitled Do Your Eyes Light Up?  I really would like you to go and take a look at her original article.  It is very thought-provoking to me and it causes me to examine some of my actions and activities.  I won’t give you all of the details of the article because I want you to go and read it.  And while you are there, leave her a comment or a word of encouragement.  As writers, we often go for extended periods of time without getting any feedback on the pieces of our soul that we lay bare from time to time.

Her article asked the question, “Do your eyes light up when your child walks in the room?”  And that is a great question.  It speaks to us about our willingness to focus on them and the value that we place on our children.    But I was drawn to look at the equation from the other side.  Perhaps it is because my children are all grown and I don’t have that exact kind of relationship with them any longer since we are all adults.

My question would be do your children’s eyes light up when you come into the room?  I am blessed right now to have 2 of my grandchildren and our daughter living with us right now.  And I cannot begin to express the joy that I feel every day when I come home from work and walk in the door.  They come running to me squealing “Papa!” at the top of their little lungs.  And they leap into my arms as I stoop down to scoop them up.  And the look in their eyes . . . Well, to say that it is “bright” is an understatement.  It makes whatever went on that day seem so very insignificant.

And the eyes don’t lie.  They tell the story of what lies beneath them.  They provide a perfectly clear view into the thoughts and emotions that your child is feeling at that very moment.  Who hasn’t experienced that little twinkle of mischief in their eye right before they grab the cookie while you are busy making supper?  Who hasn’t seen the look of guilt even before you see the lamp on the floor?

So what is the point of Fatherhood Friday?

Fathers, what are you doing in the day to day interactions with your children that creates the reaction that you receive when you get home each day?  Do your children’s eyes light up and do they come running to greet you?  Do they just sort of wave at you and go about their activity?  Or worse, do they avoid you when you walk in the door?

Father’s Day is just around the corner.  And it is never too late to work on being the father that we want to be deep down inside.  In the days ahead, let’s work together to be the kind of father that your children will run to the next time you walk in the door.

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