by Michael Holland –  

As our kids hit momentous milestones in life, we often reflect on how fast they are growing up.

They pass these milestones- your preschooler “graduating” at the end of the year; your middle school daughter going to the school dance; your 17-year-old son driving off for his first solo drive after getting his license; your daughter on your arm as you walk her down the aisle- and although you know they’ve been coming, you still have no clue how they should feel as you pass through them.

Invariably, we men are hit by the feeling of lost opportunity: what we thought we’d do with them by this point in time, that outing we wish we’d taken, that hopeful conversation.  Sometimes we have to slow down to go fast.

Craig Groschel tells a story in one of his books,WEIRD: Because Normal Isn’t Working, about a father who felt the upcoming milestone of his daughter’s graduation from high school in a couple of years.

This father decided he wanted to remind himself each week to invest time with his daughter before she graduated.

So he bought a bag of marbles, counted out 143 marbles the number which matched how many Saturdays until his daughter graduated and placed the marbles in a large jar.  Every Saturday he pulled out a marble and reminded himself to do something with his daughter.

Seems simple really, just seek out your daughter – or son – once a week and do something with them or have a distinct conversation with them.  But ask yourself: in the last 12 weeks, have you done this?