I am a father to three beautiful children. Violet and Scarlet–our girls–are amazing little girls. Wyatt, my son, is a very special boy. The longer I am a father, the more I realize how unique it is raising each gender. The girls require a lot of touch. “Hold me,” is the most common phrase they utter. Wyatt requires answers more than anything. “Why? Where? When? How?” His never-ending questions are exhausting sometimes, but, they need to be answered.
It seems to me that he needs my focused, engaged attention more than the girls. He needs to know that I’m listening, that I’m watching, that I’m impressed, excited, and proud of him. I’ve been struggling with him lately.
I have been very busy recently. The kind of busy that leaves me hollow and lifeless by dinner time. Wyatt goes to bed at 7:30 PM, so by the time I get home, there are precious few minutes to spend together. He is acutely aware of this and tries to monopolize every moment. I have been a bit more hesitant. “In a minute,” I say that more than any other combination of three words. Every day it seems like I recite that line a hundred times or more. I want to stop. I want to put aside the day and give my son the much-needed attention he deserves.
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