The other day, my wife took the kids to the New England Aquarium. Supposedly, they had fun. They told me about penguins pooping on the rocks, and about the sharks. Officially, the sharks never eat the other fish in the tank. (Here, the woman saying this wiggled her eyebrows.)
But what my kids will remember from that day is their visit to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. You paid for it, so if you haven’t heard of it, it’s part of the Big Dig project. Thanks for your money. It turned a really ugly stretch of highway into a really ugly underground stretch of highway, and then deposited some delightful little parks right into the heart of Boston.
The main attraction from a kid’s perspective is the water display. I’d call it a fountain, but that’s too passive. It’s one of those series of jets of water that do different things, and that kids (mostly) use for tactical soakings.
My daughter played in this water for well over an hour. I recorded an interview. My wife and son got wet at different times (though my 3 year old wasn’t really into it once he got a face full at an inopportune moment).
In the end, this is what they will remember. They will remember the moments of pure, unbridled fun. Learning is great. Experiences are great. But if you don’t look for pockets of pure fun, you’re missing the finer things, at least from a kid’s eye view.
Agree?
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Chris,
This is my first time to read this Blog as I heard about it from your post on ChrisBrogan.com.
I whole heartedly agree to what you are saying. As a youth pastor for a church in northwest Houston,TX., I have found that a teenager does not typically have the most memorable experience within a group or even one one with their pastor or teacher, but rather, the spiritual experience that packs the greatest punch is one they have shared with a parent.
This is the reason, I do not just seek to have a youth ministry but a family ministry. We purposely design events to create those experiences with a young person's immediate family members.
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I agree 100%! The purest memories I have from my childhood are those that were pure fun.
Now I get those great memories through my son and his pure fun. I love to play with him and watch him play. When he has a pure spontaneous laugh of joy it makes my heart sing. That is one of the reasons I try to involve myself in his life as much as I can as his dad, his soccer coach, and his scout leader. I love it when we get my wife's eyes to roll up with that expression of, “oh lord there the boys go again.”
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I agree 100%! The purest memories I have from my childhood are those that were pure fun.
Now I get those great memories through my son and his pure fun. I love to play with him and watch him play. When he has a pure spontaneous laugh of joy it makes my heart sing. That is one of the reasons I try to involve myself in his life as much as I can as his dad, his soccer coach, and his scout leader. I love it when we get my wife's eyes to roll up with that expression of, “oh lord there the boys go again.”
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You can’t always predict what kids remember, but family photos & albums sure help to glue it in both parties.
A week ago I took my 5 year old (http://tiny.cc/blogdoug) over to check out the yet empty school where she will commence Kindergarten this Thursday. In the course of describing many things to her, I mentioned she would be going to school for the next 12 years (at least…yes, actually 13; I’m not as smart as she is!), a statement I figured was over her head or not of interest. Today she informed dinner company she would be “in school for 12 years”.
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You can't always predict what kids remember, but family photos & albums sure help to glue it in both parties.
A week ago I took my 5 year old (http://tiny.cc/blogdoug) over to check out the yet empty school where she will commence Kindergarten this Thursday. In the course of describing many things to her, I mentioned she would be going to school for the next 12 years (at least…yes, actually 13; I'm not as smart as she is!), a statement I figured was over her head or not of interest. Today she informed dinner company she would be “in school for 12 years”.
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You can't always predict what kids remember, but family photos & albums sure help to glue it in both parties.
A week ago I took my 5 year old (http://tiny.cc/blogdoug) over to check out the yet empty school where she will commence Kindergarten this Thursday. In the course of describing many things to her, I mentioned she would be going to school for the next 12 years (at least…yes, actually 13; I'm not as smart as she is!), a statement I figured was over her head or not of interest. Today she informed dinner company she would be “in school for 12 years”.
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I took my kids to one of the most wonderful places in Vermont to ski and enjoy all the pleasures of The Equinox in Manchester. Historic hotel and lots of fun things to do. My kids were 10 & 7. When we arrived they put us above the boiler room. The whole room vibrated. I asked them to move us. They graciously did…to another room on the 1st floor that vibrated. We did this 2 more times until they finally put us on the top floor. No vibrating…hallelujah. We spent the next 5 days skiing, going to great kid places and generally having fun. When we returned, the kids teachers asked their classes to write a piece on their vacation. What do you think they wrote about? The fact that when we arrived we changed rooms 4x! Not a word about the other things we did. The teachers were so tickled by this they couldn’t wait to ask me, “you really changed rooms 4x?!” When I asked my kids what about all the other things we did their answer was “but that was so much fun!” Next time, I’m going to save the cash, check into any old hotel, just keep changing rooms, stick them in the pool and read a good book!
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I took my kids to one of the most wonderful places in Vermont to ski and enjoy all the pleasures of The Equinox in Manchester. Historic hotel and lots of fun things to do. My kids were 10 & 7. When we arrived they put us above the boiler room. The whole room vibrated. I asked them to move us. They graciously did…to another room on the 1st floor that vibrated. We did this 2 more times until they finally put us on the top floor. No vibrating…hallelujah. We spent the next 5 days skiing, going to great kid places and generally having fun. When we returned, the kids teachers asked their classes to write a piece on their vacation. What do you think they wrote about? The fact that when we arrived we changed rooms 4x! Not a word about the other things we did. The teachers were so tickled by this they couldn't wait to ask me, “you really changed rooms 4x?!” When I asked my kids what about all the other things we did their answer was “but that was so much fun!” Next time, I'm going to save the cash, check into any old hotel, just keep changing rooms, stick them in the pool and read a good book!
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I took my kids to one of the most wonderful places in Vermont to ski and enjoy all the pleasures of The Equinox in Manchester. Historic hotel and lots of fun things to do. My kids were 10 & 7. When we arrived they put us above the boiler room. The whole room vibrated. I asked them to move us. They graciously did…to another room on the 1st floor that vibrated. We did this 2 more times until they finally put us on the top floor. No vibrating…hallelujah. We spent the next 5 days skiing, going to great kid places and generally having fun. When we returned, the kids teachers asked their classes to write a piece on their vacation. What do you think they wrote about? The fact that when we arrived we changed rooms 4x! Not a word about the other things we did. The teachers were so tickled by this they couldn't wait to ask me, “you really changed rooms 4x?!” When I asked my kids what about all the other things we did their answer was “but that was so much fun!” Next time, I'm going to save the cash, check into any old hotel, just keep changing rooms, stick them in the pool and read a good book!
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I agree, Chris. My daughter’s best moments this weekend were walking on the beach (well, I walked, she darted around a lot) and playing with the buttons on the automatic chairs in her grandparent’s RV.
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Chris – you’re sooooo right! I love it when dads write about the wonders of being dads. Even though our twin daughters are 29 year old, my husband and I are still learning with them and from them all the time – about fun and many other things.
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I agree, Chris. My daughter's best moments this weekend were walking on the beach (well, I walked, she darted around a lot) and playing with the buttons on the automatic chairs in her grandparent's RV.
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I agree, Chris. My daughter's best moments this weekend were walking on the beach (well, I walked, she darted around a lot) and playing with the buttons on the automatic chairs in her grandparent's RV.
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Chris – you're sooooo right! I love it when dads write about the wonders of being dads. Even though our twin daughters are 29 year old, my husband and I are still learning with them and from them all the time – about fun and many other things.
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Chris – you're sooooo right! I love it when dads write about the wonders of being dads. Even though our twin daughters are 29 year old, my husband and I are still learning with them and from them all the time – about fun and many other things.
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Chris, Great post. Sometimes it seems like we can learn more from kids, than they can learn from us.
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Chris, Great post. Sometimes it seems like we can learn more from kids, than they can learn from us.
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Chris, Great post. Sometimes it seems like we can learn more from kids, than they can learn from us.
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You know what – just read this post kind of late, but yesterday, Sun Aug 30, we got one heck of a rain storm. So, after the lightning passed and it was just sprinkling – the kids and I went out and drove the car through the 2ft puddles, rode biked through them, skipped rocks, got soaked, muddy, filthy. It was the most pure fun we have had in a while.
This post brought a good smile simply because I know yesterday was one of those days that will be used to pull through the drudgery that is commonplace each day.
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Chris, I completely agree, one of the wonderful things about being in this business is one can operate from almost anywhere. On Sunday, I took my daughter to the park to take pictures, she’s 4.5 yrs old and every so often she and I will take a dad/daughter photo trip…great times. As I pulled up to the park, a local councillor asked for my card and said he’d like to talk more about SM…a nice bonus to spending time with my daughter, as if that was actually needed.
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Chris,
Of all the titles you have – social media guru, NYT best-selling author, etc – Dad is by far the only one that really matters.
Thanks for plugging fatherhood!
Peter
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You know what – just read this post kind of late, but yesterday, Sun Aug 30, we got one heck of a rain storm. So, after the lightning passed and it was just sprinkling – the kids and I went out and drove the car through the 2ft puddles, rode biked through them, skipped rocks, got soaked, muddy, filthy. It was the most pure fun we have had in a while.
This post brought a good smile simply because I know yesterday was one of those days that will be used to pull through the drudgery that is commonplace each day.
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You know what – just read this post kind of late, but yesterday, Sun Aug 30, we got one heck of a rain storm. So, after the lightning passed and it was just sprinkling – the kids and I went out and drove the car through the 2ft puddles, rode biked through them, skipped rocks, got soaked, muddy, filthy. It was the most pure fun we have had in a while.
This post brought a good smile simply because I know yesterday was one of those days that will be used to pull through the drudgery that is commonplace each day.
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Chris, I completely agree, one of the wonderful things about being in this business is one can operate from almost anywhere. On Sunday, I took my daughter to the park to take pictures, she's 4.5 yrs old and every so often she and I will take a dad/daughter photo trip…great times. As I pulled up to the park, a local councillor asked for my card and said he'd like to talk more about SM…a nice bonus to spending time with my daughter, as if that was actually needed.
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Chris, I completely agree, one of the wonderful things about being in this business is one can operate from almost anywhere. On Sunday, I took my daughter to the park to take pictures, she's 4.5 yrs old and every so often she and I will take a dad/daughter photo trip…great times. As I pulled up to the park, a local councillor asked for my card and said he'd like to talk more about SM…a nice bonus to spending time with my daughter, as if that was actually needed.
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Hey Chris,
“Pure fun”. One of the best things a dad can give his kids, and the look it produces on their faces is one of the best things about being a dad. Sounds like you have the perfect day! 🙂
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Chris,
Of all the titles you have – social media guru, NYT best-selling author, etc – Dad is by far the only one that really matters.
Thanks for plugging fatherhood!
Peter
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Chris,
Of all the titles you have – social media guru, NYT best-selling author, etc – Dad is by far the only one that really matters.
Thanks for plugging fatherhood!
Peter
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Hey Chris,
“Pure fun”. One of the best things a dad can give his kids, and the look it produces on their faces is one of the best things about being a dad. Sounds like you have the perfect day! 🙂
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Hey Chris,
“Pure fun”. One of the best things a dad can give his kids, and the look it produces on their faces is one of the best things about being a dad. Sounds like you have the perfect day! 🙂
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100% agree with you and hope you all have a nice time : )
you will like it!
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100% agree with you and hope you all have a nice time : )
you will like it!
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100% agree with you and hope you all have a nice time : )
you will like it!
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100% agree with you and hope you all have a nice time : )
you will like it!
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100% agree with you and hope you all have a nice time : )
you will like it!
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