A Single Sentence from a Season Ahead Highest LeverageIf you had 45 minutes to sit across the lunch table with anyone today, who would you choose?
I have found there is something special about Friday lunch plans. It's the hinge between our weekly rhythm and weekend plans. There is a different spirit and air about Friday lunch. When our kids were in elementary school, my wife and I decided we were going to go all in on Friday lunch with our kids. It was a way to slingshot our time together as a family over the weekend. I had the privilege of working a 1/2 day most Fridays when our kids were in that season and we made frequent visits to their school for lunch. We'd make a sheet of bagel bites, grab some grapes, and show up with it in our basket. I recognize that not all parents can do this. If you can though, I believe if you show up semi-often, you'll understand why it's such a significant family building opportunity. Sure it involves sticky floors and lots of noise but it could be your highest leverage lunch all week. I use that word on purpose. To have leverage means that you get outsized results from the effort you put forth. Consider this... 45 minutes spent in your child's school lunchroom has an amazing amount of built-in leverage for you as a parent. 9 Reasons We Visited School Lunches
Frequent school lunch with your kids isn't for everyone. I remember an older dad suggested it to me when I was in your stage of family and I'm so thankful he did. We tried it and eventually adopted it as a value and habit for our home. Yes it is awkward and you'll get plenty of strange looks, but the payoff is huge! It became a tradition for us to eat lunch with our kids most Family Fridays and to this day I've never regretted it one time. In fact, I may need to go buy my college kids lunch right now, for old-time's sake. See you next Friday - Finley PS. When you read an email that connects with your family or season, would you mind forwarding it to a few friends who are also in their power-decade of parenting? I'd love to continue to share these short stories and lessons we learned with other parents like yourself. Thanks! |
Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
Family Friday Newsletter - 3 min read by: Finley Robinson A Single Sentence from a Season Ahead A few close friends, who care about your kids, can be the difference between a small hiccup and a big mistake in their lives. No More Scale How often do you feel guilt as a parent? Somedays I wonder if parents in the 1950s felt a similar guilt to what parents feel today or if it's a more modern feeling. They probably did, but I still wonder. It's so easy to get lost in the comparison trap of...
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Family Friday Newsletter - 3 min read by: Finley Robinson A Single Sentence from a Season Ahead Choose your stories wisely because your stories shape your children's futures. Fearing Frustration One of the approaches that my wife and I believed in was raising kids who could "figure it out." We didn't start out that way because, like most parents, our natural response to a child who couldn't find something was to jump in and solve the problem. As they aged though, I became convinced that we...