Saying Good Night

I’m in Washington DC tonight at a conference. It worked out for Jean and my two boys, Trent and Troy, to travel with me on this trip. Dr. Dobson said when I took the role as president of Focus on the Family, “Your number one priority is those boys. Don’t let Focus take too much of your time.” Great words of wisdom from America’s foremost authority on family.

Well, after a great speech by John Stossel, of ABC’s 20/20 program, I ducked out to give my boys a kiss good night before catching dessert with the group. The boys were just returning with their bag of to-go food from a local hot spot for six and four year olds. Mom was directing them into the lobby of the hotel, when I caught their eyes. They both ran quickly toward me yelling, “Daddy, daddy, we love you!” Although Stossel is an impressive speaker, it could not rival the excitement of seeing my two whippersnappers running me down in the lobby of the hotel. They clung to my legs to let me know they missed me.

You know what’s tragic? 23 million kids will go to bed tonight without a father in the home to say good night. That is 34% of America’s children! We lead the world in this terrible statistic. Here’s another whopper, 73% of men in prison did not have a dad in the home. What is important to us? Are your kids important to you? Do you get excited to see them at the end of the day?

A man about 33 years old sat next to me at dinner tonight. We started talking about the demands of work, and I asked him how much time he was able to spend with his two young kids, ages 3 and 1? He said, “Not enough.” I could see his eyes moisten. He said, “How do you find the time?” I replied, “You just have to make it a priority.” He went on to say his little girl asked him to stay and play with her the other morning, but he said he had to leave for work. She was heart broken. I suggested to him that he might want to give her 10 minutes before he left the house. This way, he could say “yes” to her loving request, and besides, what’s 10 minutes in the big scheme of things? He seemed to like the idea…so good night from Washington D.C.