Passion

I have spent a lot of time thinking about passion lately. I think passion gets a bad rap. It is so important to be passionate. Passion is contagious. I am passionate about a lot of things expecially faith, family and philosophy. Isn't it more fun to talk to someone about anything when they are passionate? When they care? What are you passionate about and why?
I get all excited when I get to talk about my children. I get even more excited when I talk about how my wife and I met and the direction of our relationship. It is easy to get passionate about the big things in life but what about the little things?
Passion: the emotions as distinguished from reason b : intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction c : an outbreak of anger.
So many of us live day to day as hampsters on the wheel. Why not savor the moments? Especially the ones at home. I like to sit back and watch the riot as it occurs around me in my house. This week my wife and children are out of state visiting family. I miss the activity. It is amazing watching the youngest of my children as the hustle around the house totally engrossed in whatever has caught their fancy. It is incredible how focused they can get on the simplest of tasks. Why not me? I am trying to dive into simple tasks with the same passion that they have. It is so much fun to get lost in the littlest activities.
I have an expression my friends know I use called "Zoo Mode" When I am out with my kids at the park, playground or anywhere else appropriate, I jump into "Zoo Mode" It is where I act just like them. It is so much fun and totally refreshing. I run around and play and it usually drives other parents crazy. TOUGH! Remember the point of being outside with your children is to enjoy what they want to do. Run, jump. roll around on the ground, swing on the swings, take the slide. It is awesome and your kids will remember it and love you for it. We always say, "I was a kid once too!" So here is your chance to prove it. Put the laptop away, turn off your cell phone and go for it. You may just burn some calories off while you are at it. Dads, play with your kids. They need it almost as much as you do. Play with passion, not to win. Dive into the role of being their playmate. Forget the mortgage, job and other responsibilities for a few minutes. We all know they aren't going anywhere but your kids are. They are going to grow up faster than you can imagine. Life races by if you aren't careful so embrace passion. It is awesome and will change your perception of nearly everything.

Location, Location & Location

I spent the first 10 years or so of my life in the country. For most people this would be a dream come true. We lived in a beautiful, white brick colonial house with 6 huge pilars in front. It was on an acre and 3/4 with an all-sports lake out back. The lake was stocked with large mouth bass. It was nearly picture perfect. Most of my "city-folk" cousins thought I had it made in the shade, and in some ways I did. My dad traded 10 acres further out in the country for the lake lot. Eventually he saved up enough to build a house and years later finnished the house by adding a 2 car garage. He was pretty frugal and smart. He and my mom worked hard to build their dream house and it was exactly that... A dream house.
10 years later that dream house became more of a burdon than a blessing. We wanted to move to Ann Arbor to be closer to church, school and friends. The market in the early 1980s was pretty bad. They had a lot of trouble selling the house.
I learned a lot from living in that house. I learned about the beauty of multi-generation families. I learned about the joys of pet ownership. I learned how to water ski, snow ski, ice skate and drive a snow mobile. I learned it takes 2 days and 2 people to mow an acre and 3/4. I also learned it is easier to mow a hill sideways rather than up and down. One of the most important things that I learned from living there is a realtor's favorite expression. Location, Location, Location. Why is that important? Well, I challenge you to think about the neighborhood you grew up in. Who were your friends and neighbors? What did you do for fun?
When I was 10 I moved to a "real" neighborhood. It wasn't a dream house at first. Eventually it was bigger and better than the lake house. Oh yea, and it took all of an hour to mow the lawn.
I believe that going to birthday parties after school is important. Playing little league sports is important. Having pride in your neighborhood, town, state and country is important and you shouldn't miss out on anyone of those four. I still remember the address and phone number out at our house on the lake. I have fond memories but I did wish that I lived in a traditional neighborhood. There is a huge difference.
There is a simple beauty in watching life as it happens around you: seeing people age, taking care of the elderly lady down the street (We called her Grandma West). We would shovel her driveway, mow her lawn, check in on her often and in return we were rewarded with hot cookies and a sense of community. Remember that? A sense of community? (I will talk more about that in future posts.) I have memories of watching families grow. Children leaving home for the service, college or to start their own families. The circle of life was always close to home with people passing on and others having babies or adopting and everyone in the neighborhood was involved. Some were pall bearers, others made meals for the families concerned and a couple of the families would share the use of their huge, flat yard to put up the big tent for someones wedding reception. I miss those days of the "old neighborhood" and darn-it-all I'm bringing it back!