Love is a Child
By Glen Parmenter
Ever so often I get reminded of how incredibly lucky I am. My wife just celebrated her 29th Birthday, so I sent her off to get pampered as a gift. Being the amazing woman that she is, of course our daughter is completely attached. In moments like when I am putting her down for her nap and Mommy is not here, she cries and continues to ask for mommy. I tend to get frustrated because all I want is to have her nap. Today I caved, allowing her to use me as a mattress. As I look down at this sweet girl, I kiss her on the top of her head and I am blown away that I get to be the Father of this spunky go getter child who loves unconditionally and generally without judgement.
In this piece I want to share with you how I see love in a whole new light from observing my little girl since she was born. You never truly can understand what love is until someone’s needs are wholly dependent upon you. One of my greatest fears even now is being a failure as a Father. Every single decision I make revolves around how it is going to make an impact on our family.
Now I want to make one thing very clear. There are those I know both in my family and out that have either struggled to have children or can not have children, and both are heart breaking. When the heart breaks, it has devastating effects upon the one whose heart is broken, and for the ones that witness their loved ones heart being broken.
Ever since I can remember I have wanted to have kids. I don’t know if this was an innate desire or the fact that I grew up in a pretty decent sized family with tons of cousins. I will never forget even becoming an Uncle for the first time.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well because these days I am seeing so much hate. Families turning on each other for people that do not care about them, and will never call on their Birthday. Humanity has flipped on its head almost entirely in an instant. If I was single and alone I probably wouldn’t care so much, but I am not. I have a beautiful wife and fiercely independent daughter who I worry about non-stop. Whenever they step out of the house and I cannot go with them my heart drops into my stomach. Even before we had our little girl my wife and I always would text each other whenever we get where we are going. Just our way of saying we got to our destination safely and a little token of the love we have for each other.
Focus on the ones you love and the ones that love you. When we get into too much of a routine we tend to take advantage of our most important relationships. We let things slip and make excuses. Time we will never get back. Time is one of the most precious commodities, yet we have no problem tossing it away like a piece of trash.
Life’s too short to hold grudges. Forgive where you can. Love as much as you can. It’s in serving that we can find our ultimate joy. Look for those little blessings that truly can be lights in the darkness. Love can prevail if we allow it, and it’s in loving one another we move forward and achieve the impossible.
Glen has a heart made of pure gold, and he truly enjoys and celebrates the successes of others. He is an amazing financial advisor and friend who works hard, and lifts up everyone around him with his relentless drive and enthusiasm. A rare blend of kindness and a can do attitude, that we are thankful to know and have be a part of this collaboration. To check out Glen’s website click on the link below!