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Hey Dad,

Hope all is well at your home. My family is sick as a dog. Everyone is hacking, feverish, and slumping around. My wife has been hit the hardest, and I've already learned that I'm not very sensitive to her father's little pumpkin. It doesn't help that I don't feel very hunky dory either but that shouldn't matter 'cuz I'm 'da dad (I hate that I ever invented that phrase).

Anyway, it's been a weird week. Usually, I'm starting to feel the Thanksgiving/Christmas tingle by now, but I'm not feeling very 'tinglish.' I'm excited about the new Christmas Carol movie starring Jim Carey though. As A Christmas Carol connoisseur, I'm always on the lookout for a new version.

Plus, it gives me another vehicle in which to be a good dad. That's the thing about the month of December; it's like a 'freebie' for fathers. It just doesn't get any easier for us; all we have to do is show up and we get an A+.

Take the movie A Christmas Carol or all the various Christmas Carol movies. All I have to do is watch it with my kids and they feel good, not about the movie, but about me. They feel loved because I showed up, made a tiny bit of effort, and made sure they ate popcorn.

About the only thing standing in the way of success is me. Sometimes, like right now, I just don't feel like making any effort. I make promises to myself of 'maybe later.' But you know what? Sometimes 'later' is too late. I was reminded of that the other day.

I was talking to a dad who spends a lot of time with his grandchildren. Tragically, his six-year-old granddaughter died during heart surgery about six months ago. I hadn't seen him in a while and somehow we ended up talking about Disney World.

He shared how he had taken them all to Disney about three months before her death. "We had a great time," he said with a smile. But there were tears deep in his eyes and his lips were fidgety. "I had wanted to do it for several years … I wish I wouldn't have waited."

I could tell his thoughts were of a little girl enjoying the Magic Kingdom and then he said again, "I wish I wouldn't have waited."

So my fellow dad, listen to his words and, "Don't wait." Be there for every Christmas video they watch. Make popcorn every time. Help decorate the tree, string lights on the front porch, do advent nights this year, and plan to do that one thing you've wanted to do for several years now.

Don't Wait! And make sure you use some hand sanitizer after reading this.

You 'da dad,

© 2009 Todd Wilson. Used by permission

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