One of the things that I will never regret is doing special things with my kids. The time spent with each of my kids is something that will end soon enough, and I’m not looking forward to that day. Not one bit.

My oldest daughter is almost fifteen. Looking down the road, in just three short years she plans on going to college, which will take her out of my house and out of my day to day life. I’m proud and excited and scared all at once. And that day is coming too fast!

And so, I take every opportunity to do something special with each of my kids as often as I can.

Take this weekend as an example. My oldest daughter went to a birthday party. My next two kids went with the youth group to an event. That left my youngest three at home. My five year old wasn’t able to go on the church trip, and so he was pretty bummed out. I decided that he and I would go do something. We took off and found a few geocaches, and then grabbed an ice cream cone before coming home. He loved the one on one, special time.

Was it that hard? Not at all. And doing this can take many, many forms.

You can take a kid to a baseball game. Go to a movie. Take a trip to a nearby state park. Go fishing. Take a walk. Go to the mall. Even a conversation over a Big Mac can be a special thing.

What happens is pretty amazing. Your kids love spending time with you, and the more often you take the time to show them just how valuable they are to you, the stronger you build that relationship.

Granted, you can’t do something with them all of the time. Just the other day, my five year old got up, dressed himself, grabbed a hat and a book, and wanted to come to the office with me. While I have done that before, that day just wasn’t a possibility for something like that. He was disappointed. But he also knows that I love him tremendously because I do such things, and I do them as often as I can.

I encourage you to take your kids out and do something special with them. Either together, or individually, it doesn’t matter. Just go do it.

And, be deliberate, Dad!

What special things do you like to do with your kids? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.