Living in the Moment

When Nick and I were Cub Scout camp, I had the opportunity to observe two kinds of parents - those who participated as little as possible and those who threw themselves into the mix and had as much fun as the kids. (There was even one disagreeable fellow who went so far as too tear down every activity as being lame and not very fun. [Never mind that his son was having a great time with all of these "lame" activities.] Fortunately he was an extreme case.)

It was really interesting to see the contrast between these types. It was pretty clear who I wanted to hang out with - the guys who were having fun and getting dirty. So that's what I did and I had a great time. When it was over, some the other active dads and I were talking about how we wouldn't mind a few more days of this. The non-participants, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get home.

Don't get me wrong. It was great that these parents took time to bring their sons to camp. However, by holding back, camp became a job or a chore that had to be done. Instead of counting down the hours to departure time, they could have been out there having a great time themselves.

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