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Happiness
Today I was playing with Cooper. I had him bouncing on my knee while I talked to him in silly voices and pretended to munch on his cheeks. He loved it, and in addition to showing me his million-dollar smile, he gave me some great chuckles to show me how much he was enjoying our play time. I’ve had a happy life for the most part, but there are a few experiences that stand out as some of the happiest in my life. This experience today was one of those that will remain with me for a long time to come.
Cooper’s First Cereal
Last week, our pediatrician gave us the OK to start giving Cooper solid foods. We took some pictures of his first experience today, and it was quite humorous. It was really fun getting to feed him, but quite the mess. Cooper’s reception of this new food was lukewarm at best, but he’ll warm up to it soon. He likes to eating far too much, a trait which he inherited from Dad.
Five Minutes
I was driving home the other day and saw a woman pushing her child in a stroller while chatting on her cell phone. As I thought more about this experience over the next few days, I began to realize that the world’s problems might be solved if parents would devote that cell phone time to their kids. A parent could easily postpone a five minute cell phone conversation, and instead give that five minutes to their child. In five minutes, here are ten things a mom or dad could do with their child:
- Teach them the value of a dollar
- Ask them how their day went
- Play catch
- Give them a big hug
- Read to them
- Tell them a joke
- Help them with a math problem
- Take a quick walk to check the mail
- Take a moment to enjoy how amazing they are
- Teach them something so profound, that they will still remember it years later
Five minutes seems like very little, but it can be a lot. Those few minutes can make a world leader, or a hardened criminal.
I am well aware of the irony of my writing this ten minute blog entry while my son is downstairs. Imagine what I could have done in ten minutes!
