Kids & Family
Hot Cocoa and A Movie!
Parents, are you creating memories with your children like you're supposed to be? Or are you too busy running around to be fully present?
Parents, I rarely ever sit still; and when I do it doesn’t take long for me to start thinking about what productive thing could I be doing. Recently I was pushed into one of those rare sedentary moments through Mother Nature dumping a bunch of snow on us and my children asking me to drink some hot chocolate and watch a movie with them.
At first I was having a hard time relaxing because I am the type of guy that values productivity. Thus, my mind was busy calculating the most productive thing I could be doing at that moment, and somehow sitting on the couch didn’t seem like the right answer to me. Don’t get me wrong now. I am always grateful to spend some time with my kids. I know how important quality time with family is, as well as what a blessing it is. However, while watching television I couldn’t help but occasionally wonder if there was something better that I could be doing with my kids than just watching a movie with them and drinking cocoa.
However, I soon realized that here I was with a golden opportunity to just be at peace with my family while also building in some quality time and some quality memories with them. Although, these more peaceful memories would not be action-packed adventure memories, they were still highly worthwhile memories nonetheless. Furthermore, I figured these types of restful memories of cocoa and a movie with my family helped add some balance to my life, and really are what my children wanted at the moment more than anything else.
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Now, as my Granddaddy always said, “Go learn, lead, and lay the way to a better world for all of us.” Remember that our kids don’t need as much as we think they do, and are usually just as happy, if not even more happy, with the simple things in life like hot cocoa and a movie on the couch with mom and dad. And once again parents, thanks in advance for all that you do, and all that you will do…
Daniel Blanchard is a New Britain Schoolteacher who is also a bestselling and award-winning author, speaker, and educator who has appeared in over 100 television and radio shows, as well as some of the world's top podcasts. Learn more about Dan at: www.GranddaddysSecrets.com
