Comments on: The Simplest Of Pleasures

By: diance

diance — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:24:15 +0000

100% agree with you and hope you all have a nice time : )
you will like it!

By: Most Popular Posts of 2009 on Dad-O-Matic : Dad-O-Matic

Most Popular Posts of 2009 on Dad-O-Matic : Dad-O-Matic — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:35:25 +0000

[...] The Simplest of Pleasures by Chris [...]

By: steve

steve — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:54:43 +0000

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!

By: Peter Mis

Peter Mis — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:54:22 +0000

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

By: WalterSchwabe

WalterSchwabe — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:26:16 +0000

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.

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:12:43 +0000

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.

By: Brian Gryth

Brian Gryth — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:52:45 +0000

Chris, Great post. Sometimes it seems like we can learn more from kids, than they can learn from us.

By: Nancy Gruver

Nancy Gruver — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:17:26 +0000

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.

By: tabithadunn

tabithadunn — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:09:11 +0000

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.

By: babyjadepr

babyjadepr — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:42:46 +0000

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!

By: dohop

dohop — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:09:15 +0000

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".

By: John

John — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:48:22 +0000

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.”

By: korycochran

korycochran — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:58:09 +0000

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.

By: danmac30

danmac30 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:47:24 +0000

I took my son to “grandma on the farm's” as he calls her. We rode on the tracker, fed the cows and jumped in puddles. There is something about the simple things that help you remember to stop and enjoy life with the ones you love.

By: Tre

Tre — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:38:41 +0000

How can we each be that child that enjoys those pockets of pure fun? It's a question I ask often. What helps me is oddly enough scheduling it in. Weekly play time. I must. Sometimes it turns into more than 1x/ week but in that 2 hour block I let myself become 8 and do whatever….of late I've had fun rediscovering reading clouds and seeing the images they're making
Love this garden you speak of and the water fountains. Glad you all experienced it as a fam. FUN!

By: Shel Horowitz

Shel Horowitz — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:22:53 +0000

Yeah, and walking distance from the North End, too. My kids love ethnic neighborhoods.

By: Cynthia Coleman

Cynthia Coleman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:35:16 +0000

There are some similar fountains here near the Tennessee Aquarium. Sounds like a fun day.

By: Cynthia Coleman

Cynthia Coleman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:23:55 +0000

There are some similar fountains here near the Tennessee Aquarium. Sounds like a fun day.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:03:02 +0000

Your post hit a cord. Yesterday it was sizzling hot in San Diego. To cool off, our teens walked over to the local community pool - come to find out it was closed due to a swim meet.

Disappointed, they returned home and soon found a bag of water balloons, hidden away in a cupboard. They spent the remainder of the afternoon filling the balloons, tossing the balloons, getting wet and chasing each other outdoors.

But the best part was my husband's role in making more fun. Covertly, he filled up several small plastic cups of ice water. Crouching in the corner of our upper condo deck, he ambushed them with cold water as they played in the walkway below.

Here's to the power of water as a generator of laughs and smiles.

By: rexaw

rexaw — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:31:35 +0000

I've got 4 kids of my own – ages 11 to 5 – and sometimes when we're doing silly things that might seem like a waste of time, I realize that just giving them my undivided attention as a part of their world is worth a lot more than it seems at the time.

When I start thinking about all the books I need to read, emails to reply to, and things I need to do, I stop and remember, “I am doing something more important right now than any of those.”

Of course there needs to be a healthy balance, but I'd venture to guess that most of us are deficient in the “spending time with kids” area.