They only go through once

In conversations with folks older than myself, the thread of discussion, more often than not, leads to matters involving family and children.

One regret that I have heard expressed often is that if they had it all to do over again, they would have spent more time with their children when the children were little.

I’m sure I might express the same regret, when my hair is grayer or gone altogether.

Because I have found that no matter how much time I spend with our children, it is never enough.

The fact is, life is a constant struggle to try and find time for the important things and time does slip away like sand through an hourglass.

We all make choices, and they are hard choices, sometimes.

This newspaper is very important to me, and I know that the more time and effort I apply to it, the better it will be and it is very, very important to me to make it as good as it possibly can be.

However, the same can be said of my family.

The more time and effort I apply there, the better it will be.

Our jobs and our families are interconnected, though, and keeping that ideal balance between them is perhaps the most challenging aspect of life.

Sometimes we think that if we were independently wealthy, we could give all our time to our families and life would be "perfect."

It may seem that way, but I have known a few independently wealthy folks whose family lives were a great deal less than "perfect."

Our work is part of who we are. In many ways, it defines us and keeps us connected to the world we live in.

I’m not so sure I’d be a better parent if I didn’t have to work for a living.

Our children are watching us all the time and they learn from being around us.

They see how we embrace the day to day responsibilities of life and they learn and understand how important it is to actively engage in the world around them. Hopefully, they learn to try and make things better in this world. They ask questions and we, as parents, do our best to answer those questions.

When you work for a living, so many different situations arise that put your value system to the test. It’s not often easy to know the difference between right and wrong. Sometimes it’s even harder to do what’s right when you know there will be hell to pay as a result.

Many times the "wrong" way is the "easy" way, which is what makes it so tempting.

But with every situation we find ourselves in, we need to look deep inside and do the right thing. Children are front row spectators at the show that is our life. They will learn their values from the example we set for them.

It’s not enough to talk the talk; you have to walk the walk.

Growing up, our whole family contributed to the work on the ranch where we lived whether it was feeding the cattle, hauling hay, digging postholes, or whatever needed to be done. We worked alongside our parents and we learned firsthand the value of work and the satisfaction and reward that comes from hard work.

These things shaped me into the person I am today, and I think without these kinds of experiences, I would be a different person with a whole different set of values.

As important as work is, however, I think it is just as important to make time to play with your children, especially when they are little.

They only go through the "growing up" process once, and there is some stuff that as a parent, you really don’t want to miss along the way.

We sometimes get in the trap of thinking that if we work harder and longer hours, there will be more money for more things that will make us more happy, but that kind of thinking is just that – a trap.

After all, what is the point of having all the finest things if at the end of the day; you have no time to spend with your family?

I think a lot of people realize that too late.