7 Years

Seven years....that's how long it has been since the kids' dad has called and voluntarily asked to spend the day with them. So you can imagine our surprise to come home yesterday after an orthodontist appointment to find a message on the answering machine from him, asking if they wanted to spend Saturday with him and his wife. The kids are excited; I'm cautious. While I don't think he will back out or not show up, I'm not sure? curious? hesitant? about how the day will go. The last time he spent more than 2 hours in the same building as them, they were 8 years old, and they spent a day with his wife's family at a water park. He doesn't know them any more, and they don't know him. We all live in the same town, yet it's been 7 years since he's had a conversation with either of them.

Like I said, the kids are excited. I told DD that she has to be nice, polite and actually speak to her father. She hasn't talked to him other than a few words at Christmas for about 2 years. She's stubborn enough that if he doesn't speak to her first if we bump into him somewhere, that she won't talk to him. She says he's her dad, he's the adult, and he should be able to at least say "hello" to her, and she's right, but this time, I've told her to at least try. The day is pretty well all planned out, and the activities are all things the kids will enjoy. I'm not sure what I will do with a Saturday to myself! I usually have one weekend of "alone time" a year - when the kids are on retreat with their youth group, so this will be a different experience for me, too.

I think I'm glad for the kids' sake that their dad has called. I just hope it's a positive experience for them and that he doesn't get upset if his preconceived notions of how they should behave are incorrect. (They're good kids; he just tends to have unreasonable expectations.) There will be a lot of time spent in prayer the next few days, for safety and wisdom and an enjoyable day. After all, it will be hard to tell if it will be another 7 years before he calls again.