The little things - splitting wood?

Yesterday at work someone shared this story with me . . . .

Last weekend was an annual event at her house. She cooked as eight fathers and eight sons converged on her house to saw logs and split wood. For a whole day, they processed the large logs that have been stacking up over the last year as her husband scavanged from neighbors and friends. She fed them multiple times as the men and high school age urban dwellers experienced for a day a chore that their great grandparents probably had as children. The irony of the whole thing - - she shared with me that they really don't need the wood. The end up giving most of their share away.

So, you are probably wondering "Why do it?"

Well, it seems her husband travels a lot, and at some point he carved out this day to sweat along side his son, teach him a little bit about hard work, and make a few friends/memories along the way. He is creating his own 'Moment' as a father with his son. It turns out this year the son asked his mother "Why are we cutting this wood? We don't even need it." Her only comment to me was "He doesn't get it. But someday he will."

Another data point for me that it is all about the little things we do, and the traditions we create. I just got back from a weekly basketball night that a friend and I created to help the kids learn about how to have a pickup basketball game. Our goal was to get them to a point where they don't need us - they just call each other and go play. Well, that has not quite happened - we still have to drive it a little bit. And we end up running a few games because there are not enough kids. Do I need to run? Probably not. My body does not enjoy it as much as my spirit does - but it is great to just laugh and play . . . which as adults we sometimes forget to do that.

Remember Dad, it is just about the simple things. And we all can do simple.