Are you passionate about the details of a project? Or are you more like me – I like to think of myself as an ideas person, a get a project started type, as soon as the first problem comes, I escape and let others solve the problem – care for the details. I move on to another project. I hate to tell you, as a parent you need to be excellent at both. Our children needs ideas, need the initiation but also love the person who finds just the right kind of candle for the birthday cake. Our children need the parent who looks to the future and guides them with friends they make, classes to take or even the school to attend. They also need the parent who will make sure they have pencils, paper, and cuadernos for the first day of school. I don’t like wasting my time on details! Isn’t that a little arrogant of me? I’ll clean the grill after a parriada but want to watch a futbol game when it comes to clean the dishes. I like to take my wife on a date but don’t want to take the time to wash the car or buy her a flower to pin on her dress. In order for families to work, I need to be the ideas man with a passion for the tiniest detail. As husband and wife, we can maximize on our strengths, but never avoid the menial. There’s a story that goes like this, “For want of a nail, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, a General was lost. For want of a General, a battle was lost. For want of a battle, a war was lost. For want of a war, a nation was lost. All for want of a nail!” Michelangelo was once working on a statue when some friends visited him. A month later they visited him again - working on the same statue. “What have you done,” one friend asked? Michelangelo responded, “Oh, I’ve smoothed a line here and polished an arm, taken a few flakes of marble from the forehead …” “But those are only trifles! Is that all you’ve done?” “True, they are trifles,” replied Michelangelo. “But trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle.” Do we want families that are OK? Or do want families that are great? Greatness only comes when we as parents are humble enough and dedicated enough to assure that the details are taken care of. None of us are perfect as individuals – nor are our marriages perfect. As we work together to maintain our love and a strong marriage, our homes will be a good environment for growing and happy children.