Just Doing My Job

As a parent I look for signs. Signs that help me know that I’m doing a good job raising my child. Sometimes these signs are neon signs. They stand out proudly displaying to the world how successful you are as a parent.

Your child’s behavior in a restaurant, or how he or she relates to elderly neighbors is this type of sign. They’re bright, they’re bold and you instantly know that either your worst parenting nightmare has come true, or that you have done a good job and your child is a good person.

However, some of these signs aren’t quite so easy to see. They come camouflaged in a plethora of hard to spot disguises. It’s possible to spend most of your life watching for these elusive signs and never seeing one as plainly as I did today.

M, my daughter, is going to a four week camp this summer down in south Texas. It’s her first year to go to this particular camp and she and my wife have invited some of the other campers her age, and their mothers to our house for a kind of break the ice party. It is our desire to help her get to know some of the other campers before getting on the bus in Dallas and heading off to camp.

For most of this party, I’ll be in a meeting at church, but I should get back just in time to meet the other girls and their moms before the party is over.

M took me aside, looked me right in the eyes and said in her most pleasant voice, “Dad, when you come in don’t do anything silly that might embarrass me, okay?”

I got down on my knees, looked into her eyes and replied, “I wouldn’t dream of it, but just knowing that you feel that you needed to say that to me, is music to my ears.”

She gave me a big hug and continued getting ready for the party.

As a parent I look for signs. If you possess the potential for parental embarrassment strong enough to warrant a verbal plea for sanity from your child, rest easy baby…you’re doing your job.