“Hello, hooray, let the show begin.”
Hello Hooray – Alice Cooper (1971)
Hennepin Canal Parkway near Sheffield, IL – August 5, 2017
(Note: all banner pics come from March 2017 to August 2018)
Where to start when considering a batch of 30 posts?
I suppose a friendly, up close wave from yours truly and all the people I live with similarly greeting in the background.
This banner pic represents the most important things that Julie and I have going as well as some of the values we are looking to instill in those four kids.
First up is family. We’re a team, right? Not always a well-oiled machine but so far we’ve managed to get it done and generally get along. With four kids there are lots of different interests and even levels of interest within common pursuits. Throw in that those interests and the regular responsibilities of maintaining a family unit pull us in many directions and life gets a little wild.
That’s where getting out in the wild comes into play. Nothing like a good old family day trip for a bit of an escape. Sure, there’s still the customary, “Are we there yet?”, “Tell him to stop touching me!”, “The bugs are driving me crazy!”, “How long is this trail?”, “When can we go home”…If you’ve got kids you know the routine.
But what makes up for it are the comments that come once the dust settles and we have time to reflect on the adventure. Without fail, Julie and I also hear stuff like “Mom that was fun hiking through the forest”, “Dad do you remember when we saw that crawdad?”, “That was cool throwing walnuts off the bridge” and the clincher, “When can we go back?”
Yep, it’s rewarding to hear such positive feedback from our crew in a post trip assessment especially when it is a candid, unsolicited comment. It lets you know that something about the experience stuck and makes us parents walk a little taller with the feeling that we are doing something right.
Now more than ever the outdoors beckons for us more experienced folks to pass on its wonders to the kids of the sanitized, instant feedback, indoor computer age. Here’s to some quality time in the fresh air with dirt over hand sanitizer, field guides over phones, picnic baskets over drive thrus, ears over ear buds and forests over Fortnite.
At least for a while. Talk to you later. Troy
Troy, you don’t know how refreshing it is after a tough day at work to view your website. I can’t agree with you more about the simpler things in life. If more parents instilled those values in their kids, how much better off would we be!? It was really great to see you and Julie last Saturday. Keep up the great work with the kids and blogs. K.O.
Thanks for the thumbs up, K.O. It is rewarding to hear that these frequent rambles provide a little escape or perhaps a recharge of the batteries. Mission accomplished. Great to visit with you and Karen as well last weekend. I’m going to keep on writing so hope you’ll keep on reading.