Have Fun and Get Brilliant

Have fun and get brilliant.

Boys off to school to have fun and get brilliant.

What do you want for your children when you send them off to school each morning? Let me guess. You want them to learn. You want them to enjoy their learning.  You want them to have friends.  You want those friends to be children they can count on and feel comfortable confiding in.  Well, what I want for my children is for them to have fun and get brilliant.

I’ve been offering up these instructions ever since my now 10-year old (BR) started kindergarten. After I kissed him – he doesn’t let me do that anymore in front of other children – he’d walk toward the bus, and I would call out, “have fun and get brilliant.”

To read the rest of this post, please go to the blog, DadNCharge. 

The Best Angry Birds Birthday Party. Ever.

Angry Birds Birthday Cake*Thanks to Ms. MMK for this guest post

Joy.

Complete and utter joy.

In case you are not familiar with how joy is expressed by seven- and eight-year-old boys, I will inform you.

Noise. Complete and penetrating noise.

That’s how I know that SJ’s Angry Birds’ birthday party was an absolute success. After the party was over, my ears were ringing as if a plane was directly overhead.

Worth it? You would know the answer if you had ever experienced the “SJ Thank You Hug.” Picture a young boy of significant size barreling at you until his head hits your chest. All the while, he’s smiling like he just shot the Darth Maul pig out of the air. Yeah, it was worth it.SJ and the Angry Birds Birthday Planner AKA Ms MMK

But you probably want to hear the details.

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Am I Embarrassing?

Embarrassing?

Embarrassing? No, Batman is always cool!

“Don’t embarrass us!’

These were the instructions my children gave me on Sunday night and again on Monday morning. My children’s school had an event going on later that Monday. Parents were invited to come in to their children’s classroom and stay for up to thirty minutes and observe what the children were learning.  Since, I’m working from home these days, I was the parent who would go visit.

The children and I discussed the visit before-hand. We went over the parameters.

“So, can I call out your name?”

“No.”

“Can I say I love you?”

“No.”

“Can I say I remember when you were a baby?”

“No”

This went on for a little while longer with me saying things which I knew would horrify them. Horrifying can be fun, and I’m really good at it. They even laugh sometimes. However, their final instruction to me was repeated multiple times. And they – the boys and the instructions – were clear and serious.

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A Moment To Be Still

A Moment to Be Still

STILL

The world keeps moving. Slow down at the risk of falling behind.  It’s 24/7. Now, now, now. No one waits for anything.  Must, must, must.

But I need to escape. I need to clear the clutter from my brain. I can’t keep swimming.

It’s Friday evening and the Sabbath has begun. I’m in the synagogue and nearly done the evening prayers.

In fact, I’ve just completed the silent Shmoneh Esrei prayer which is said to ones’ self while standing and still.  It is the centerpiece of the evening service. I’ve taken three steps backward to symbolize my taking leave from God and the last of the words have been silently said. They prayer is done. But before I take a step forward and return to the world, I pause.  I have something to add.

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