“How did you live like that?”
This was my eight-year-old’s response when I told her that I grew up in a place, at a time, when Starbucks wasn’t ubiquitous in towns like ours.
She and I had walked alone into town to get a smoothie bowl – also something I’d never heard of, if it even existed, when I was her age.
But her honest, kid-like response to a world in which a child could not order a pink drink – hold the strawberry inclusions, please – or a summer skies refresher prompted me to continue.
“No Sephora, either,” I said.
She smiled. “Did you even have TV,” she asked, getting the joke.
“Yes, but only 12 channels and no remote.”
She looked at me.
“I’m telling the truth.”
Raised eyebrow.
“Here’s something that even seems crazy to me. When Netflix first started, they sent you a DVD in the mail and you couldn’t watch the next film in your queue until you mailed that one back.”
She was sure I was lying with that one, and saying it out loud it sounded like to me like I was lying. But it was true.
“Did you even have cars???”
“Yes, but not an ugly CyberTruck!” I said.
There are few things I love more than doing something one-on-one with one of my three daughters. I don’t care what it is. Swimming. Taking a walk. Playing golf, which I love, or playing tennis, which I’m not very good at. Watching a show – without having to pack up the DVD and mail it back.
This was one of those rare times when the long, holiday weekend aligned with me not having anything due. So I took advantage of it.
I didn’t make extra work for myself.
I didn’t try to get ahead.
I didn’t do any work that could wait until today.
Instead, I drove my oldest daughter to meet friends.
I went for a swim with my middle daughter and started watching a new Apple TV series with her. (I did not take said daughter to Sephora, because the weather was just too nice, but I did drive her and a friend into town.)
I played golf with my youngest and went to the beach.
I went to dinner with my wife, stayed out a little bit later and went to be earlier.
It was such a great weekend – even better because I expect the next three weeks to be as busy as last weekend was relaxing.
In an interview I did last week – which will hopefully air this week – the interviewer reflected on advice he’d received from a mentor: “We can’t know which memories our kids will remember.”
But we can always try to be present.
