Am I Old Or A Good Dad?

So, here I am in Florida… my old stompin’ grounds. But this time I have my wife, 8yr old boy and 6yr old girl with me for a week of vacation. So what else would we do but head off to the beach? Granted, it was around 20-30 years ago that I used to frequent these warm-water Gulf Coast beaches. And, additionally, my motives and goals were MUCH different back then.

Instead of looking for where all the people and action were, including booze, girls, and parties… this trip had the very simple goal of finding ‘shark teeth.’ So where else would we go than the Shark Tooth Capital of the world, “Venice Beach?” We tried to find a secluded spot where there were very few people… and lots of shells (two things I avoided back in the party days).

And we found the perfect spot… loaded with shark teeth… not to mention the burning rays of the hot Florida sun. All in all, it was a great trip that ended at Sharkey’s on the water. Nothing like the view of the Gulf while stuffing your face with Calamari and Grouper. However, it dawned on me about half way through the shark teeth expedition… have I gotten really old? Or have my motives just completely changed and now… I’m trying my best to be a good dad to my kids? Cause let me tell you, this trip to the beach was MUCH different than those trips ‘back in the day.’ Thank God for His grace to cover those ‘good ole days.’