Parenting Page: Pursuit

This has been a rough year for Caroline, our 3 and a half year old. I was sick from March though August, Julia has started walking :), and now I am working full time. When school was the dominant part of my time I would often sacrifice an A for a B in order to make sure I got good time with my girls. With work it is entirely different, and I am simply gone from the house more (and I cannot do work at night in my basement like i could with school... I did make some A's in Seminary :) ).

So, when I go home today there is a good chance Caroline will say (in a half-yell), "No, Daddy (BURN-E/Fillmore the Bus/Terrence /Eric) go in the dining room..." Or, "Don't Come in". The only thing that has been harder as a parent (for me) is when she didn't want to talk with Rachel after Julia was born.

I have learned to pursue my daughter through this. She will almost always relent to being chased. I have to be careful to chase in such a way that she doesn't get to run directly to Mommy, but I can almost always convince her that chasing is good. Caroline is a sucker for being thrown up in the air. It is rare that she doesn't like it, or being swung around. Julia is a different story, she has her mother's issues with motion. But Julia also runs to me when I get home.

I am not a great pursuer in some relationships, but I do know how to pursue Caroline. When I was sick I would pray for the energy to chase her. Now I have it, and I so easily forget! It means so much to her heart when we do it. There are a lot of analogies there, about God, about parents, and about love. But, the purpose of this post is to simply encourage you to pursue your child this afternoon or evening. You were probably going to anyway. If you do not have children, pursue a good friend - call them, and begin with obvious excitement if you get them on the phone (this is adult chasing maybe?). Have a good Wednesday.

-Matt Blazer