Last week, I treated myself to an early dinner at a local restaurant. While waiting for my meal, I did a little people watching. A waitress had seated a brother diagonally to my table. He had a set of twin boys in tow…they were 16 months old. Yeah. And Dad was holding his own. It was a thing of beauty I tell you. LOL “Big Brother” noticed me watching them and it was on from there. We waved at each other, said hi MANY times, played a little peek-a-boo, giggled, etc. “Little Brother” had a look on his face like, “What? What is he doing? That ain’t Mommy! That ain’t Granma! That ain’t even Auntie!” He kept looking at his Dad then looking at me and back at his brother. Dad had it down to a science - small toys, sippy cups, ordering his lunch & some sides that his kids could eat, feeding them without his food getting cold & enteraining the little men all at the same time. He never missed a beat. His wife breezed in a little later and she and I chitchatted about how “Big Brother” was all flirty. She said it was cool as long as he remembered who he was going home with. LOL She said Hubby did the whole ‘hanging with the fellows’ thing on the regular. Some mornings she’d wake up and find a note saying he taken the boys out for the morning so she could sleep in. He had it down to a science. He said he got a lot of attention when he was out with the boys, doing what it is a father is supposed to do for/with his kids & that he knew it was a ’sign of the times’ but he sure wished it wasn’t. I understand. Still, I give him props.

Not long ago, I spent a weekend at a weekend seminar run by a brother who runs his own business as a coach/writer/speaker among other things. His wife was there along with their four kids (3 boys and a girl). They homeschool their kids and when he has a seminar or speaking engagement that lasts a few days, the whole family comes along. In this case, the wife helped with the logistics, snacks for the group, etc. and then worked away from the group for the most part with the kids. It was at the beach so they were studying tides, etc. During one of the breaks, he and I talked about what a blessing it was for his family to be able to come along with him, to see what he did, to see the impact he had on people in the moment it happened. He told me how much of his success was attributed to his wife because she kept him grounded. He said a lot of people who attended his events just took it for granted that she was just there to put out the snacks but he told me some of the things that she did behind the scenes, things they worked on preparing for events, as he was writing his books, etc. He even encouraged her to write her own book and start speaking so he could support her in a different way. During the seminar, he talked about some people he’d worked with and someone asked him why he wasn’t known on a bigger scale than he was. He told us that the only “scale” he was concerned with being measured on was God’s and his family’s. At the end of the second night, the wife and I got a chance to sit and talk. I told her how great I thought it was for the kids to be able to see their daddy at work, in his element. And it was. A very powerful statement. To see your father running things. And Dude commands big bucks for his appearances. When we took breaks, he would dip away to spend time with the kids, help them with homework, or just take them for a walk along the beach. They got to see their parents interact, see their mom actually involved in the business, keeping their father on track, making sure he rested. That was POWERFUL for real. Wifey started laughing and said she was so used to doing it that she took a lot of it for granted to some degree – it was just who they were. True enough but who they were was a beautiful portrait of what it can be when two truly walk as one.

There’s one other brother I wanted to add to the list but he’s “shy” so I will just say this – it is a beautiful thing to see a black man actively building a dream. It’s a beautiful thing when a black man brings it just like that – just the way you did -wrapped in nothing but truth and a desire to share. It would be a minor thing to most. But we both know that “minor” ain’t me. LOL Big things my friend, big things are coming your way and I for one can’t wait to see you give new meaning to the word “UPRISING”. Am I in your corner? Like a fugitive dust bunny trying to escape the Swiffer. Yeah, just that tight. LOL