I’m laying on my basement couch as I type on my laptop. My two youngest girls, Jasmine and Abbey, are playing with their beloved Fisher Price family toys (I don’t know the exact name of the toys). They’re completely unaware of my observing/studying them. No, I’m not Diane Fossey studying gorillas in the midst of Africa, but watching my kids when they are unaware of my watching them is one of my favorite pastimes.

My wife Diana was commenting the other day that the Fisher Price family toys were the best “investments.”She added, “They play with them more than any other toys.” First of all, the use of the word “investment” by my wife to describe toys. It’s not exactly what I would have used to describe buying toys, but it is a beautiful–and revealing–choice of words. For my wife, toys are not the clutter-the-floors-thus-creating-pick-up-time-messes type of things that they are to me. For her, toys are the things that keep our kids occupied and enjoying life. Diana sees them as investments in our kids. It really is a fundamental difference between my wife and I. (Where would I be without her stabilizing influence?)

I did some volunteer work cleaning toys at a family and child services house a few years ago. As I was wiping every toy down with a Clorox solution, an employee came by and talked about the importance of the toys. She said that if you wanted to learn about a kid, watch them when they play. Our kids play “family” more than anything else. I was just watching Jasmine and Abbey act out spring break with their toys. As a family, we were planning on going to Las Vegas to visit with Diana’s family, but we had to cancel those plans because of some medical complications that arose for Diana (oblique, yes, but I don’t want to elaborate). Anyway, the kids are a bit disappointed with that decision. Their playtime dialogue with their toys underscores that. When I slow down and I take the time to watch my kids play, I learn a lot. More than that, I always have this swell of parental satisfaction and joy for what I have in life. I love my kids and family. God help me to keep my priorities straight when my job pressures me to do other things…

Sometimes I am very envious of my wife and the things she gets to do. Yesterday I worked at home during the AM. This gave me the chance to walk Jasmine to the bus stop at noon. As I turned to leave, Jasmine pulled me down, gave me a kiss and said “Bye Dad.” Then she repeated that again really loud several more times. I think she wanted the other kids at the bus stop to know I was her dad. Tears start to well in my eyes right now when I think of it. What an honor to be a father.