My kids are pretty typical 6 and 8-year-old boys. They’re growing and active although they like to watch tv and play more video games than their Old Man would prefer. My wife and I have to lay the hammer down every now and then and tell them to “go outside and find something to do” like I want to remember “we used to do when we were kids”.
Let “The Hunger Games” Begin
I’ve got a feeling that if we went to the video replay that we’d find I didn’t spend nearly as much time outside in my youth as I claim. But whoever said fathers should let facts get in the way of sound advice?
In the spirit of finding something to do, our local Dads’ Bucket List crew decided to break out from a rainy, drizzly Sunday to take part in what we billed as “Weapons & War Games”. Now before you freak out about that outing title, just know we didn’t re-enact The Hunger Games. That’s actually planned for next month.
Our experience entailed introducing the kids to Capture the Flag in a local park with over 40 acres of space to roam. We would also be firing some tomatoes with our hand-built trebuchet. There’s just something about having a “toy” you built that fires tomatoes an estimated 600 feet that’s hard to put into words (so I’ll let the video speak for itself).
The kids kept themselves busy playing multiple games of Capture the Flag. One side was winning more than their fair share and started singing “We Are the Champions” only to have one of our little charges who was on the losing side sing back his rendition of “You Are the Cheating Champions”.
It’s good to know that playground banter still hasn’t changed. And once a few of the dads got into the mix of the game the back and forth really picked up.
Men and Their Treb Toy
The outing ended with a lot of muddy clothes, but no injuries (except to the tomatoes).
It’s been a while since our last blog entry, and that may be a reminder that I’m being less productive curating Dads’ Bucket List than I should be at times. It’s also a reminder to look in the mirror first when assigning labels.
And so Summer is dead ahead, which means lots of opportunities for fun and a reminder for this dad, at least, to disconnect the electronics and re-connect with more real-life unique shared experiences.
Go. See. Be Do.
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Dads' Bucket List 