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, I totally agree. Some of my own faves with my son… Making cupcakes and going crazy with the sprinkles  no holds barred. Slip 'N Slide in the back yard to the point where the grass under the thing is completely flattened  and not caring. Skipping the diet for a night and having family movie night in the den with a large pizza, then snuggling up together on the couch. Good stuff.
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Ironic..we just came back from the annual Coble Hill Fair and the kids has a great time…
Phil
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Agreed! My son finds fun in everything and I think I need to remember not to be so serious sometimes. He helps remind me though. Nothing better than seeing your child just enjoy life.. 🙂
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Ironic..we just came back from the annual Coble Hill Fair and the kids has a great time…
Phil
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Ironic..we just came back from the annual Coble Hill Fair and the kids has a great time…
Phil
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Agreed! My son finds fun in everything and I think I need to remember not to be so serious sometimes. He helps remind me though. Nothing better than seeing your child just enjoy life.. 🙂
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Agreed! My son finds fun in everything and I think I need to remember not to be so serious sometimes. He helps remind me though. Nothing better than seeing your child just enjoy life.. 🙂
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One of the simplest pleasures that kids love to do, is going out in the rain. Just getting wet under the skies makes children giglle with laughter. (Just have towels and dry clothes ready.)
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One of the simplest pleasures that kids love to do, is going out in the rain. Just getting wet under the skies makes children giglle with laughter. (Just have towels and dry clothes ready.)
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One of the simplest pleasures that kids love to do, is going out in the rain. Just getting wet under the skies makes children giglle with laughter. (Just have towels and dry clothes ready.)
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I loved the post except for the part where you recorded an interview. Look for the pockets of pure fun Chris. 😉
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Hi Chris,
This is my first visit on your blog.This is really appreciable step for all the Dads like me
This is the right place to learn something new being a Dad.
Thank you again !
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I loved the post except for the part where you recorded an interview. Look for the pockets of pure fun Chris. 😉
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I loved the post except for the part where you recorded an interview. Look for the pockets of pure fun Chris. 😉
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Hi Chris,
This is my first visit on your blog.This is really appreciable step for all the Dads like me
This is the right place to learn something new being a Dad.
Thank you again !
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Hi Chris,
This is my first visit on your blog.This is really appreciable step for all the Dads like me
This is the right place to learn something new being a Dad.
Thank you again !
#
When you get down to brass tacks, aren’t the simple things the ones that matter most … to everyone? The best moments are the ones that you can’t plan, that you can’t pay for. They just happen. This is true for kids, and grown ups. Hold onto those moments, as they truly are the best things in life.
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When you get down to brass tacks, aren't the simple things the ones that matter most … to everyone? The best moments are the ones that you can't plan, that you can't pay for. They just happen. This is true for kids, and grown ups. Hold onto those moments, as they truly are the best things in life.
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When you get down to brass tacks, aren't the simple things the ones that matter most … to everyone? The best moments are the ones that you can't plan, that you can't pay for. They just happen. This is true for kids, and grown ups. Hold onto those moments, as they truly are the best things in life.
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I may be going out on a limb here but I think Chis is trying to tell us something about blogging… Dad-O-Matic to Blog-O-Matic, if you will…. Maybe I am too much of a Dad and and reading between the lines to much? At any rate, whether you are talking about parenting, bloggin or life, it’s all about fun.
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I may be going out on a limb here but I think Chis is trying to tell us something about blogging… Dad-O-Matic to Blog-O-Matic, if you will…. Maybe I am too much of a Dad and and reading between the lines to much? At any rate, whether you are talking about parenting, bloggin or life, it's all about fun.
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I may be going out on a limb here but I think Chis is trying to tell us something about blogging… Dad-O-Matic to Blog-O-Matic, if you will…. Maybe I am too much of a Dad and and reading between the lines to much? At any rate, whether you are talking about parenting, bloggin or life, it's all about fun.
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Shhh, don’t give away my secrets. : )
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In the old days, I’d have been at a desk and not with the family at all. Now, I can be with them *and* get my work done. Kind of the best of all worlds.
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13 parks in 1 day? Why aren’t you an author on Dadomatic? : )
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Agreed… I find that the best memories my kids are having, are from FREE activities. Hang’n at the park, walks in the summer rains, or waking up at 3am to walk in the first snow of the season. Those are the kinds of things they’ll tell you about when they reminesce. (I’ve got two elementary kids)
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We’ll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy and fall into place.
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Shhh, don't give away my secrets. : )
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Shhh, don't give away my secrets. : )
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In the old days, I'd have been at a desk and not with the family at all. Now, I can be with them *and* get my work done. Kind of the best of all worlds.
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In the old days, I'd have been at a desk and not with the family at all. Now, I can be with them *and* get my work done. Kind of the best of all worlds.
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13 parks in 1 day? Why aren't you an author on Dadomatic? : )
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13 parks in 1 day? Why aren't you an author on Dadomatic? : )
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We’ll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy.
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We’ll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy.
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Agreed… I find that the best memories my kids are having, are from FREE activities. Hang'n at the park, walks in the summer rains, or waking up at 3am to walk in the first snow of the season. Those are the kinds of things they'll tell you about when they reminesce. (I've got two elementary kids)
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Agreed… I find that the best memories my kids are having, are from FREE activities. Hang'n at the park, walks in the summer rains, or waking up at 3am to walk in the first snow of the season. Those are the kinds of things they'll tell you about when they reminesce. (I've got two elementary kids)
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It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.
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I was visiting Atlanta a few months ago and a similar fountain in the Olympic Park was full of kids all day… (No, I didn’t jump in because I was wearing a business suit not a bathing suit 🙂 )
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We'll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy and fall into place.
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We'll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy and fall into place.
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We'll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy.
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We'll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy.
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We'll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy.
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We'll have no bigger impact on the world than the impact we make with our children. Start there. The rest will be easy.
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When our three children were young, we had little money (husband full-time student, I was stay-at-home mom). My husband decided to take the kids to every play park in the city of Saskatoon. They played at every one and rated each one (my husband is an engineer. What can I say) I think it took them two summers to finish them all. Crazy. Fun.
Now my children are almost grown-up. But yesterday I spent hours shopping with my daughter who is heading off to college this week. We kept losing each other at the Farmers’ Market. Ate some very sticky but delicious cinnamon buns from the Market. We stopped at a second-hand clothing store because she’s into recycling. Then we trekked on to the downtown mall (we parked blocks away because I hate to pay for parking). At the mall, we kept buying stuff–big stuff like comforters, duvets, pillows. Eventually we had to head back to our car. We looked like bag ladies (no shopping cart though). We kept laughing about needing sherpas to help us carry everything.
The crazy park thing my husband did when the kids were young created amazing memories for them. I know that yesterday my daughter and I, bag ladies needing sherpas, created some more memories–links in that chain that binds us together as family.
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Wow, what a beautiful photo! (And reminder about what matters most)
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It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
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It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
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I was visiting Atlanta a few months ago and a similar fountain in the Olympic Park was full of kids all day… (No, I didn't jump in because I was wearing a business suit not a bathing suit 🙂 )