Fatherhood is awesome. Sure, there are moments where it can be difficult and frustrating and scary, but those times are far eclipsed by the moments of joy, fun, enthusiasm, and bonding. One of my favorite things to do is spend time with my kids one-on-one. During these one-on-one times they get my full attention, and I get theirs.

Sometimes I’ll take a Saturday morning and take one of my kids to breakfast or lunch. My son, Colby, likes to go to a local restaurant called Colby’s grill. Not only does it share his name, it has great food. My daughter likes to go to a local spot called Around the Corner Restaurant. It’s exactly what you think of when you imagine a small town diner. It’s homey and delicious.

Recently, Colby and I have been taking walks together in the evenings. It’s the perfect time of day for a walk as we’ve just finished eating dinner, Bernard is out in the flowerbeds gathering pollen, and the air is cooling more each moment as the sun is dipping lower into the horizon.

We step out the front door, spend a few minutes watching Bernard, and then one of us will choose which way we’re going to go. Our neighborhood has a walking trail a couple of blocks away, so we usually meander around one of three routes we can take to get to the trail.

Along the way we talk about life. As you can imagine, life is pretty hectic for a 9 year old on summer break. He tells me about his latest adventures on Minecraft or a new skin that he has made for his character. Sometimes he tells me about his progress on a game called Portal. Sometimes he asks me how my day has gone. Read More...