Family Friday Newsletter - 2 min read by Finley Robinson

A Single Sentence from a Season Ahead

Together

"What was the big thing that drew you together most as a family?"

I was asked this question by a dad with elementary-aged kids not long ago. My wife and I were invited by him and his wife to join them last minute at a local concert.

As we sat on the lawn, listening to the music, he fired off this question and it caused me to really stop and think.

"What did you guys do to create the lasting connectedness you have with your kids?"

At first, I thought to answer adventure. Then I wanted to say it was shared meals. After that, I thought maybe it was our love for sports, or movies, or making fun of each other.

I've always wished that we told amazing stories in our home but we aren't great storytellers, so that wasn't it. I did pause and think maybe it was our faith that drew us together, but that didn't capture it fully either.

Finally, I settled on this ... whatever we did, we always did it together.

We read together.
We cooked together.
We shopped together.
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We played together.
We carpooled together.
We adventured together.

We churched together.
We watched TV together.
We road-tripped together.

We got sick together.
We cleaned up together.
We sang T-Swift together.
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We fought together.
We apologized together.
We ate big meals together.
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We cried together.
We laughed together.
We showed up together.

For the Robinsons ... this was how we did family, together.

It was often harder. It was inefficient for sure. It left the car dirty and twice as many dishes in the kitchen sink.

When our kids got older, we did less together. We couldn't be together in Dallas for soccer and also together at home for volleyball. This is what happens to families as kids grow up. The circumstances for together begin to creep away.

This is why I believe your "power-decade" is so critical and valuable as a parent. Together is only possible for a time.

Together is what makes a family a family. The time spent with your children peaks in your 30s and begins a sharp decline in your 40s.

To say it another way, we adopted the "With You" Principle of Parenting and it was always more in every way. More time. More energy. More planning. More tears. More complaining. More stories. More growth. More money. More questions. More opportunity... but it also created more together.

That is what I told my friend and that is what I would do all over again if I had the chance.

See you next Friday,
Finley