In this post from last year, I talked about how it is incumbent upon parents to “create special”, to be aware of when certain spontaneous decisions can create significant joy and memories for our kids. About a year ago, my daughter asked if we could stop and get a 15-minute chair massage while we were at the mall. We’d passed those massage chairs dozens of times before, but had never stopped, as I typically think those things are a waste of money. This time, however, it was just the two of us, so we stopped and got massages. And, boy, I’m glad we did. She held my hand and we oooh-ed and aaaah-ed and laughed the entire time. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget those smiles and laughter; I can still picture it vividly.

This past weekend, our city had gotten a decent little snow and the kids had just gotten in from playing outside in it for a bit. While they were warming up and sipping hot chocolate, we decided to watch the move Lone Survivor. I’d seen it before, but wanted to watch it again since I’d just finished the book. Also, my boys had been begging me to watch it, and I figured they could handle it at this point. When they saw the SEALs packing their gear for the mission, my boys got out all of their Nerf dart guns and ammo to organize it just like the SEALs did. And since Christmas just passed, they have a lot of that stuff. [Read more…] about Creative Parenting: How Spontaneous Decisions Create Special Moments