David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

Dad who made space for daughter reminds me little moments matter

By ·

The little girl’s face was set in concentration and determination. She was pushing the cart with all her might.

“You’re doing a great job, sweetie,” her father said as he pushed the grocery cart at a Walmart near my house. “I really appreciate you helping me.”

Every few steps, he stopped pushing quit as much, so the little girl could feel the pressure again — and then start moving again as she pushed harder.

The girl’s serious expression suggested to me that she had a job to do and that she was proud of herself for doing it.

When she grows up, it’s unlikely this little girl will remember this particular Sunday, but she will probably have vague, warm memories of helping her dad at the store when she was young.

It might not seem like a big deal to either one of them, but I think what I saw is one of the most important parts of raising a child.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

I miss the times when hard work
was more fun than entertainment

By ·

I’ve realized this week how much I miss work.

If you’re around me in life these days, that might sound like a surprise. Each week, I’m counting down the days until I’m “on parole” from the office for a couple of days. All weekend, I dread Monday arriving again.

If you didn’t know any better, you would assume I hate work. You would assume I’m just lazy and want to play all the time. But you’d be wrong.

I miss loving my work so much that it was a bigger high than any drug I knew of. I miss the days when working long hours was more fun than any entertainment I might be missing. I miss the times when I was learning so much that I believed I was laying a foundation for building something bigger.

I miss working for something that was my own. Something with my name on it. Something nobody else could control. Something that was mine.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

Three years after she sneaked in, World’s Happiest Dog® is queen

By ·

The first time I ever heard of Lucy, it was just a message from someone wanting me to help her find a home for a dog. That was all.

I absolutely, positively had no interest in adopting her. I was away from the house too much of the time and I was also just settling into a new house with the cats. There were too many things up in the air. The last thing I needed was another responsibility.

But I didn’t have any choice in the matter. Lucy adopted me.

A week or so before she came to my house, I went over to the apartment where she was living to take a couple of pictures of her. She was terrified of people. She was terribly unsure of herself.

The people who had rescued her from a chain when she was a puppy had too many animals and they were moving to a smaller place. She was the only one who didn’t make the cut to go to the new place. She was expendable.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts