Today is Thursday. I love Thursdays. Why, you ask? Because Thursday evenings are when business is slowest at Somping Grounds, a kids’ play land near our house. They have a great ages 3-5 play area that Jack loves, but can’t play in alone because he’s only 21 months old. Jack and I go here most Thursday evenings because there usually aren’t many kids there and I can take him there to play without getting (knocked over by) in the way of older kids. We’ve been doing this for about 8 months now, and he’s got to where he really wears me out. I always come home exhausted and bruised, and Jack’s not even phased!
What’s even more exciting than having some father-son time, is that I get to watch him grow. Being able to do something this week that he couldn’t last week, or getting excited about something he was too afraid to do before. Check out the video below (or at this link if your reader does not embed videos).
This is a 20 foot long tube made out of netting, 15 feet off the ground. At first, he didn’t care about the tube. Then, he saw some older kids go through it but was too afraid to do it himself. Then a couple of weeks ago, out of nowhere, he just walked over to it and started going through it–and he made it look so easy! (Daddy is clearly very proud of his little one!)
But I digress. The point I was trying to make with this post is about traditions. Kids thrive on routine, and when the routine involves something fun, it becomes a tradition. Traditions are something you remember even when you’re older, and if it’s a good one, maybe even cherish. My father and I don’t share a good relationship anymore, but I still smile when I think about the excitement I felt while sitting through a haircut (even though I was terrified of the razor blades our barber used), because I knew that when we were done my dad would buy me cookies from the store next door. Not quite the same thing, but you get the idea. Good times…
