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Hey Dad,

On Sunday evening, after a long, hard weekend, I was enjoying the peace and quiet. A gentle breeze blew through the house refreshing the very bones within me. If only my wife would have brought me a tall, icy glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade, all would have been right with the world.

Enter Isaac (5 years).

"Hey, Dad … remember, you said we'd catch lightning bugs tonight? Is it time?" He smiled a sunny smile. The kind of annoying "sunny" that shines through the blinds in the morning and hits you right in the eye.

I held my breath and thought about pretending I was dead. He stood before me with the goofiest (and most adorable) grin on his face, waiting for my answer. Seconds ticked by, and I could hear the beat of my own heart as my mind scrambled for some … any kind of reasonable excuse. Too wet? Nope, dry as a bone. Maybe tomorrow night? Naw, I said that last night. I don't want to risk getting the West Nile Virus from a mosquito? It would take an hour to explain it to him.

"Sure we'll catch lightning bugs tonight," I heard myself say before I could stop it.

"Good," he answered cheerfully and was off like a shot.

An hour later, we were outside scooping up lightning bugs and putting them in a jar. The kids laughed and squealed in excitement during the hunt. Later that night, Ike and Abe fell asleep watching the lightning bug zoo that hung on their closet doorknob.

Before I went to bed, I peered in on the sleeping boys and the jar with the glowing bugs and remembered the jars of lightning bugs that I took to bed as a kid.

You see, we did something eternal that night. Something that my children will never forget. They may not remember the lightning bug part, but they'll remember the "they did it with Dad" part. And to think it all took only ten minutes … and I almost said "No."

How many other things have I missed that would have only taken a few minutes or a few hours? I'd rather not think about it … but I'd better. We play for keeps, us dads.

So, have you gone on a lightning bug safari yet? Tonight would be perfect. Maybe there's something else the kids have been asking you to do. Tonight would be perfect for that as well.

You 'da Dad! (Don't you get tired of hearing that?)

© 2004 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

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