Saturday Evening Visits

You know you're not single anymore...when 10 college age students from your wife's work drop by on their way home from Zaxby's on a Saturday night just to hang out...You're realizing you never know who's going to be coming by your house at any time...But then you've always longed for adventure to do the things you've never dared...and in addition having friends of your kids come over to spend the night is always an adventure!...You realize your life is now always somewhat public...but you still have a great time anyways!

Pastor's Kids

You know you're not single anymore...when your son exaggerates on a story and your daughter is quick to say that he's practicing being like a preacher!...You do wonder what it's like for your kids to wake up one February morning and all of sudden become Pastor's Kids (PK's)...At least you know your kids have a good humor about it...On the other hand, you know that you have to work through that idea of "living in a bubble"...with the kids I live with, that bubble might pop really easily! :)

Non-stop

You know you're not single anymore...when you realize that you are moving non-stop until you go to bed...You used to consider a nap when you got home from work...Ain't nobody got time for dat!...Between softball, football, homework help, teaching math to your home-schooled son, helping with dinner (or dishes), talking with your wife about the day, etc...In fact, you are fortunate if you have time to devote an hour to work _after_ the children go to bed...You think that you might be more productive if the kids' bedtime is now 8 pm...except teenagers don't agree so readily!

Truck

You know you're not single anymore...when you find a complete change of clothes for your son always in the back seat of your truck...You never know when your son wants to go swimming at a local swimming hole...or is covered in mud from playing outside...or wants to change from church clothes into something casual...You realize that your truck is slowly becoming your son's catch-all for anything extra he likes to do...At least he feels at home with you and the trips you take together....either that or he's always ready for the getaway run!

Surprise Dinner

You know you're not single anymore...when your wife sees you weed-eating the yard, comes up and says "I have to pick up our son from football practice...if you would like, you can get dinner started tonight."...Challenge accepted!...You pull out your Martha Stewart best and try to cook up a meal in the style your wife cooks so that your kids will like the meal...And victory! Everything goes well except the corn muffins fall apart in the the pan...Even your kids say it was a good meal!...You don't mind giving your wife a night off from cooking...but you have to admit, she's a much better cook than you!

DAD

You know you're not single anymore...when one of your kids looks at you and says "I'm going to try something: Goodnight, DAD"... Your heart melts because you've allowed them the freedom to call you whatever they seem to best feel comfortable with saying...And even if it's a one-time thing, at least you've heard it from one of their own mouths what they do think of the relationship you're building with them...You are amazed at how close the kids are to you after this short time period...You just pray that you will continue to have wisdom while being the Dad they need to have in their lives every day.