Need a quick pick-me-up? Experience life through the eyes of a child.
This is my son leading me on a tour of a Cincinnati Bengals tailgate party.
My husband and son are inaugural Bengals season ticket holders, and as we near the start of the football season I am reflecting on this day last November. It was a season filled to the brim with fun, camaraderie, and a new group of friends.
(Side note: You might wonder why my son is shown here wearing a Josh Allen jersey… There’s a long(ish) story to this, but let’s just say he and my husband are tried-and-true Buffalo Bills fans first, and Bengals fans a close second).
This picture of my son was taken at the Bills/Bengals game last November. I was invited to join them as one of their seatmates could not attend. I accepted the invite weeks earlier thinking it sounded like fun, but as the morning of the game arrived, I tried to talk myself out of going — and I also tried (unsuccessfully) to convince my husband of the same.
I told him I had stuff to do around the house, work to complete, and so on and so on with my sad excuses. As I pled my case (or lack thereof), his response was short yet impactful:
“Just live this day through the eyes of our son.”
It’s hard to argue with that, so I made the right choice and went with them to the game.
Later that afternoon, my heart expanded as my son led me on a tour of the lively tailgate scene, navigating his way through crowds of people, offering high fives, and “Go Bills” cheers to the opposing “Who Dey” Bengals chants.
When we made our way to the seats, I couldn’t help but smile as he introduced me to his new buddies in nearby seats. Then when game time rolled around, I laughed out loud as he cheered with wild abandon for his beloved Bills while witnessing the funny reactions of the Bengals fans surrounding us.
I’m so thankful I got out of my head and made the decision to join them that day. My son’s joy was so pure and so infectious, and I would have missed it all if I had stayed home. Beautiful memories I would have missed making with him on account of having to attend to my ‘To Do’s’.
The lesson in this for me is that the ‘To Do’ list will always be there, but time and the presence of those to share it with won’t always be. So, enjoy it now with the time you have left, with the people you love and cherish the most.
Also, my other takeaway from that experience is that kids can be the best teachers. We have so much to learn from them. We just need to be willing to listen and pay attention.
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