When I See You Again

When my children were born, I was so excited to have been able to be there! There was no other place on the entire planet I would have rather been at those precious moments. I was one of the first voices they heard, one of the first faces they saw, one other first people to hold them. I was with my wife throughout the entire experience, coaching her, encouraging her, supporting her the best way I knew how.

After they were born, I spent hours smiling in their faces. I spent hours making them laugh. I spent hours simply breathing in their fragrances. I loved the fact that I would be a father to a child. I was so in love with the idea of shaping someone's life. I truly loved my children, and still do to this day. When they were babies, I must have kissed their cheeks and foreheads a thousands times a day.

Then the unthinkable happened.

The very people who gave me purpose, were all gone. All at once. Without any notice. Snatched from me.

I no longer had children to help raise. I no longer had kids around me that I would be able to influence. I no longer had little hands gently tugging at my pants leg. I no longer had little cheeks and foreheads to kiss a thousand times each day. It was all gone.

Many nights, while I cried myself to sleep, alone in my bed, I would talk out loud to my children, as if they were there. And I would say things like, "When I see you again, I'm going to hug and kiss you like it's the last time we'll be together, because I don't know how long we'll have together."

So when I finally did get my children back in my life after months of fighting, after thousands of dollars spent, after countless hours spent, I made up for time lost. I kissed my kids cheeks and foreheads every single opportunity I got, each and every day.

I've found that many men are still having difficulty when it comes to expressing their true feelings and emotions. This simply ought not be. This absolutely cannot be when it comes to your children. Hug them. Kiss them on their forehead and cheeks. Tell them you love them. And do it all as often as possible.

In the movie 300, the Captain of the Spartan army watches as his son gets decapitated in battle. He temporarily loses hi mind and goes insane. After hours in solitude, dealing with his emotions, he emerges and stands before the king and says, "I've lived my whole life without regret up until now. And it's not that I regret that my son game his life for his country. I regret having never told him how much I love him."

Here's this trained warrior, a man's man, who has killed countless men in his lifetime, expressing his emotions, his true feelings. But it was too late. His son had been taken from him and he would never get that opportunity again.

Dad, take every opportunity that you have to make sure you're telling your children that you love them. Tell them how much you love them and what they mean to you. Tell them how important they are to you and how much of a difference having them in your life makes. Don't let this be the one thing that you later regret in life.

#hemotions