The Intentional Father | Edition #2
There is a question I have been sitting with for a long time. It is not a comfortable one.
What kind of man will my children remember?
Not the man I intend to be. Not the man I describe in my own head. The man they actually experience. The one at the dinner table on a Wednesday when the day has been long, and patience is thin.
When Ryan and Katie were young, I thought there was an endless runway ahead. Bedtime routines, school projects, family dinners — those seasons seemed like they would last forever. But the years accelerated. Ryan grew into a young man. Katie is not far behind. And I am left with a truth that is both humbling and urgent: the man they remember is being shaped right now, in ordinary moments I used to think did not count.
I have not always liked the answer to that question. There have been seasons where I drifted — present in body but somewhere else in mind. Where Kelly got the leftovers of my day instead of the best of it. Where I confused providing for my family with being present for them.
That is what led me to believe that fatherhood is not a role you fall into. It is leadership you rise to. And the rise is daily. It is a decision you make every morning and remake every evening.
This week, I wrote about what intentional fatherhood actually means — and what it does not. If the question I just asked stirred something in you, this article goes deeper.
Read: What Intentional Fatherhood Really Means
This weekend, try this. At some quiet moment — maybe over coffee, maybe on a drive — sit with that question. What kind of man will your children remember? Give yourself the honest answer. That is where intention begins.
See you next Saturday.
Scott
