I could be busy 16 hours a day. I have a full-time job in construction and do some jobs on the side. I like to cook, write non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. I enjoy hiking, going on trips, working out at the gym and watching a TV show here and there. However, I’ve always believed family time is important because I grew up in a large one that spent a great deal of time together. When my daughter entered high school, I realized I must do the same if I wanted to develop a lasting relationship and affirm her as a young woman. The only thing difficult about this would be remembering to set aside the time because I thoroughly enjoyed her company.

The hours of a day run fast, and thankfully, the importance of developing a meaningful relationship with Christina stared me right in the face as I interviewed artists Jarvis and Peter Rockwell about their experiences modeling for their father, renowned American artist Norman Rockwell. They grew up in West Arlington, Vermont, where I spent three months a year during my childhood. Norman Rockwell’s iconic models were, and some still are, our mutual friends.

Although Jarvis called him “a good guy, whom spent time with them,” they both complained that he never entered into discussions about the pain and confusion they were feeling during their school years. Jarvis described a moment when he told his father how lonely and depressed he felt. Norman was sitting at his easel and avoided the subject by explaining his next move with his brush.

Peter suggested a book, In the Shadow of Fame by Sue Erickson Boland, daughter of famed phychologist Erik Erikson, who happend to be Norman Rockwell’s psychoanalyst. She too admired her father, but he was too preoccupied with writing to have interpersonal conversations during her awkward adolescence. During the same period, I watched a movie called “Ted Williams: “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived.” His daughter described the same hurt.

I vowed to myself that I would be a different type of father. After I arrived home from work, I would make dinner for Christina and myself, and resisted turning on my computer to write or get preoccupied in any way. We enjoyed many evenings of tacos, buritos and other favorite foods of ours. (I squeezed many an avacado on our grocery store shelf to gauge when it would ripen and put my daughter on alert that it was perfect now, but would be spoiled the next day.)

We discussed her classes, friends, and a couple idiot boys who annoyed the other kids, as well as the anxiety she felt at times. One of the highlights of that era, after our talks, was watching Jeopardy on television. Christina and I ere able to answer correctly often enough to feel involved. I appreciate host Alex Trebek because his warm feelings and mannerisms display a profoundly genuine interest in his guests. These feelings wafted from the TV into our dining room and made a nice atmosphere for more conversation.

My daughter is grown and out of the house now, and I’m sure glad I spent some time listening to her concerns and helping however I could. I still visit Jarvis Rockwell, and each time he reminds me to do my best to spend quality time with my daughter.