Dad Breaks Rule on First Day of Spring
The first day of spring is Wednesday. How are you planning to celebrating it?
Wait…you weren’t?
A woman at a recent speaking gig shared with me a neat family tradition that I had to pass along. She grew up in Connecticut, and every year, on the first day of spring, her father would “kidnap” his kids and play hooky. They’d all load into the car as usual, but he’d eventually take a “wrong turn,” and they’d never quite make it to school. One time, he took them sledding to take advantage of a new blanket of snow on the ground. Another time they ended up at the Statue of Liberty. Since it was a weekday (and a rainy one at that), the crowds were light and they were able to ascend to the top without any waiting.
It reminds me of the dad who took his kids to the circus instead of taking them to school.
Don’t get me wrong. I think that a parent’s first job is to model consistency and instill responsibility in their children. That there is a need for people like the Supernanny is a crying shame.
But I also think it’s important to create scenes with your kids. And one of the best ways to do that is by breaking a rule, starting a small rebellion, and just playing hooky once in a while.
Of course, one needn’t have kids, or even grandkids for that matter, in order to break a rule and create a scene. We ALL need a day to play hooky once in a while.
You can call it a mental health day or a “sick of it” day, if that helps.
This Wednesday is the first day of spring. How will you celebrate it?
P.S. Like the Statue of Liberty art above? You can get it as a print, available in vanilla or chocolate. :)
For years, Jason has been teasing me about my wardrobe around the house. I am the Mismatch Queen. “Homeless” is how he puts it, and I laugh — we both do. I DO HAVE matching comfy clothes. My mother-in-law faithfully supplies her three daughter-in-laws with cute new pj’s every Christmas Eve. (Thanks, Linda!)
