Hallmark Made Me Do It

"Dad, you only read religion or life books," says Dylan. "Well, I read other stuff too!" I respond. But not really. He's right. I like inspirational, self-help, and religious books.

I've read enough of those to know that my job as a parent is to raise our kids so they can be independent. We are supposed to get them ready for the world and then let them go.

I'm under the impression this belief will protect me from devastation when they move out. "Aimee and I did what we were supposed to do," I'll tell myself. However, in the back of my mind, I know I'll be a mess.

But as of now, as each stage passes, I haven't been too sad. I like how they are older.  They can tell me what hurts or what they need. Plus, I like being able to doze off on the couch for 5 minutes, knowing they won't end up dead.

My method of "I'll be okay because they are supposed to grow up" was all well and good, until I came across this Hallmark commercial — watch at your own risk:

After I saw this, I did two things. First, I shared it with my co-workers, so I wasn't alone in my parenting misery. Secondly, I calculated how much time I had left with the kids in the house. I thought about Grady, our youngest. 

I couldn't get the bubble bath scene out of my head. Grady's bath days are quickly coming to an end.

Over the years, Grady mentioned taking a bubble bath — like a real one — with overflowing amounts of bubbles. I always brushed it off because I'm not the biggest fan of prolonging bath time. With me, it's all business: get in, get clean, get out. The bedtime routine is hectic enough.

But after this video, no more.

I bought this:

And then we did this:

And we had the best time! He played and played and played. We talked and talked and talked. There were no electronics and no distractions. He told me he wanted to be a veterinarian when he grew up.

We are going to do another bubble bath tonight.

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