Today while getting ready I turned on an old country station on my Apple music app. Sometimes I enjoy the occasional trip down memory lane when the familiar old songs come on that I used to listen to with my grandma. Her 8-track collection of country artists is something I wish I still possessed. Instead of thinking of my Grandma Tootie today, I found myself reminiscing about my children.

This morning when John Anderson’s I Wish I Could Have Been There came on, about halfway through I found myself getting emotional. Instead of “I wish I could have been there,” I found myself saying I’m thankful I was there!

My children are fast-approaching adulthood and their lives are moving in directions that will lead them away from me. I’m accepting the fact that I won’t see them on a daily basis in the near future.

I’m sitting here wondering where the past 20 years disappeared to. How did time pass me by in the blink of an eye?

In ’06 I graduated college and wanted to immediately pursue a master’s degree in counseling. I made the decision to put my education on hold since my kids were just getting involved with all kinds of sports (and I do mean ALL KINDS).

I’m Thankful I was There!

Life has a funny way of offering you choices that aren’t always clear which one is better and which one is best. Once you choose one road, it’s nearly impossible to turn around and go back down the other road. And I have to tell you, in this case, I’m thankful for the road I chose!

Being a divorced dad of two very athletic kids left me with a no-brainer decision to make. I chose to put my desired career on hold and be there for every single event of theirs I could physically attend. The John Anderson song made me so emotional because I made the right decision for me and my kids to BE THERE! I didn’t have to speak the lyrics of the father in this song filled with remorse for not being there. I don’t regret that decision for even a millisecond!

So as my children are embarking on their own journeys into adulthood, all I can say is one thing:

I’m Thankful I was There!

Have a blessed day.

Peace and Love,

~Travis