“Hey dad watch this!”

“Hey dad watch this”, “Hey dad check this out”, “Mom- did you see that?”, “Grandpa-are you watching?”  These words are all to common for dads, moms, and grandparents with young children.  My son is always wanting me to watch this amazing shot or that great catch and sadly I always seem to have some other “priority” pulling me away.  This weekend it all came into focus for me. The house is packed and we have all kinds of friends and neighbors coming over to visit the chicks and bunnies (long story) especially since it is Easter.  I had wandered into my home office and pulled up a clip on my computer to show someone for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration.  I heard myself saying “watch this”.   The clip was not what was important, what was important is I was letting them in to discover what my hearts desires and passions were about. Instead they watched about 15 seconds and said as they walked out the door “o that is nice”. I was crushed.  I suddenly realized when my son is asking me to watch, he is helping me to understand what makes him tick. He is crying out for me to say “encourage me dad”, “tell me nice job son”, “I am proud of you”. He is also sharing with me the things that bring him joy in his life and helping me discover how I might help him achieve his dreams.  I don’t want to do that anymore. What do you do to make sure your son doesn’t feel short changed because whatever you are doing is “more important” than watching him??