When my kids were growing up, I tended to let my wife keep track of the kids’ events. My wife diligently put back-to-school nights, parent-teacher conferences, and occasional events on the family calendar. We had a notification system, and an alarm: my wife would tell me about upcoming events in time for me to plan to be there or to hear why I couldn’t. If I attended an event, it was because work trips and meetings had felicitously NOT been planned. If I was in town and available, I would go; otherwise, I wouldn’t. Of course, I kept a calendar, but it only included meetings, phone calls and trips that I was taking, not the school, sports and other activities of my kids. I don’t think I intended to be casual about attending my kids events–I was mostly there for birthday parties and promotion ceremonies and water-polo games–but I didn’t put time into building a system that was more than an ad hoc solution.
This is where shared calendaring enters the picture. Where I once had to rely on my wife’s organizational skills and timely reminders I now rely on ClearSync’s calendar sharing paradigm to keep me in sync with my kids schedules. I can always see my kids summer schedules and school events on my Android phone calendar or on my laptop calendar. The events that require my presence I can attach to my own calendar as well, to prevent double scheduling, while other events just help me to remember what is going on in their lives on a particular date. As my kids have become busy mid-teens, the ability to track their events and activities alongside my own has made it much easier to live by my own value system that gives priority to family.
So ClearSync simplified my life and made me a better dad and husband: though I no longer need to rely on memory (my wife’s or my own) it actually has improved my ability to remember what is going on with my kids, as well as my wife. Because I see their events next to my own in my daily agenda, I am better able to discuss with my kids the events in their day. Not only do I not forget the big events, but I know enough to ask about even the small events in their lives.
