A Summer Day to remember.

Despite the fact that Friday is not officially a weekend, the afternoon feels like one. Hence summer Fridays are usually very good days. As we get older we learn to savor all the good moments with the kids still around and are still kids. This Friday had a slow afternoon, made exciting by a promising solution to a technical problem at work. I felt good about treating myself to an early departure from work. Opening the sunroof and driving home, I called home to see if dining out sounds good to the family, it usually does. We decided Italian is the way to go.

A locally owned non chain restaurant with a house setting was the choice. It is usually a very relaxing setting, but a bit of excitement thanks to a wasp that snuck into the restaurant was an added bonus. The treat came in the form of deep dish pizza piled with a healthy set of toppings. My little one was soon busy picking away all the healthy stuff of the pizza. We have given up these losing battles sometime ago and decided we will enjoy our dining experience and leave the health education to dinners at home. I think it was more of the company than the food, but it was a great meal. Feeling a bit of guilt, I suggested to my family that I would walk home. It is a couple of miles and should help relieve some of the guilt if not all of the calories. The suggestion was met with enthusiasm from the kids to join in. They usually appreciate new experiences such as this. Even my youngest decided she would walk home with me. Another losing battle to my little one and we were soon walking home. The sun was behind us as we walk and the road was full of shade, which added to the joy of the family walk home. Few dogs got excited along the way as we passed raising our adrenaline level. I wonder if this would help burn a few more claories. We made it home in less than one hour with a lot less effort than I expected. My kids were very proud of the achievement that they announced that "we can now walk anywhere we need to in town." With the gas prices, maybe it is not such a bad idea.

My little one soon regained her energy level and decided we needed to jump on the trampoline. It is her favorite pastime and hence, to her, it should be mine as well. I need not say who lost the battle. Actually, I won half this battle. Instead of jumping, we laid on the trampoline and I managed to get her attention off of jumping and into watching the late afternoon clouds. My other kids join in and it was soon a competition of imagination. Although it hurts my ego to admit it, but I was happy to find all kinds of animals in the clouds than bouncing around. "This is actually fun" she announced. After a while it got a little breezy and we soon had a volunteer to get a cover so we can stay on the trampoline for a little bit more. Time actually passed quickly and the game changed to telling stories from my heritage. I think my stories usually seem a little alien to my kids, yet they stayed attentive. It was then completely dark outside except for the street lights from a distance. Although my youngest became a little restless, she did not want to leave the family gathering until she fell asleep.

I am happy to realize that this has turned out to be a great bonding experience with the kids, in the middle of our own back yard. All I needed to invest is time and imagination. I am sure to remember this simple yet memorable day for years to come and I hope it makes it to my kids permanent memories as well.