My dad with Jack and Ben last summer
Sing it Again, Daddy
The story is told of a father who took his toddler to the mall one afternoon. His son quickly grew tired and fussy and was giving him a hard time. It started to look as if the day was about to be ruined. Out of frustration, the father took his son out of the stroller, picked him up in his arms and began singing to him. He made up the words and the melody as he went along. “You are my boy and I’m so glad you are mine… I have loved you from the start… You have brought us so much joy.” As the father continued to sing this strange new song, he noticed that his son started to relax and grow quiet. All the way out to the parking lot the song continued. As he was buckling him into the car seat his son looked up and said, “Sing it again, Daddy. Sing it again.”
Loving when we don’t feel like it is tough and few people choose to do it. But anyone can love someone when it’s easy.
As parents, we wish we could say that we have never over-corrected our children, punished them without first getting the (whole) story or secretly blamed our spouse for the way our children seemed to be turning out. Almost every time that I have reacted in anger to our children, I later discovered that they were only looking for my attention; their song, that only I could sing for them.
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