A few months ago, I wrote about the idea of making a list of things you want to do this summer. A summer bucket list, if you will. This is mine. Time flies, whether you're having fun or not. Creating a great life story requires living with intention. As the old saying goes, if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there. But if you want to create a life filled with great scenes and happy memories, you need to do your part. You need to invite those scenes and memories into your story. One way to do that is with a bucket list. Write it out. Draw it, like I did. Or …
Play
Area Families Launch “Dirt League” to Battle Summer Busyness
We're often told that the secret to happiness is to take the road less traveled. Oftentimes, it certainly seems like there must be a better way to do things than our current approach. But the problem is that the "beaten" path is so well-paved, well-marked and well-lit, that frankly, it can be hard to imagine that there could even be another way, let alone a better one. One small example is the arena of organized sports. My kids are too young to be involved in things like baseball or soccer, but I hear stories of peers who are looking down the barrel of a summer in which the majority of …
[Read more...] about Area Families Launch “Dirt League” to Battle Summer Busyness
Hang Out with Kindred Spirits at the Awesome AATH Conference
People from all over the world are meeting in Chicago for AATH’s 25th anniversary and annual conference, April 19 – 22, 2012, to experience the amazing community of kindred spirits who understand that healthy humor really is the best medicine. The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor is an international community of professionals who incorporate humor into their daily lives. AATH is the leader in providing evidence-based information about current research and practical applications of humor. The conference will attract a wide variety of professionals who incorporate humor and …
[Read more...] about Hang Out with Kindred Spirits at the Awesome AATH Conference
This Little Piggy Shared His Light
This picture was sent from Kim & Jason Nation member Jill Bodwin. She shared, …
Easter Egg Lunch
I love so many things about this idea from Brandy of Gluesticks. I love that it elevates lunch to a whole new level of playfulness. I love the tiny peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I love that the grapes look so freaking huge. I love that this idea could completely replace the boring old lunch bag. (Not that lunch bags have to be boring, mind you.) Most of all, I love the fact that Adultitis must hate this as much as any kid (or kid at heart) would love it. …
Would You Like Fries With That?
“Would you like fries with that?” This simple yet brilliant question helped McDonald’s make billions. It eventually morphed into, “Would you like to super-size that?” which became a symbol of our culture’s nasty habit of overconsumption. Indeed, we are conditioned to want more stuff. Bigger homes. Better appliances. Faster cars. Fancier vacations. I’m skeptical whether we are better off because of it. But there’s one question we should ask ourselves more often. It has the benefit of not only leaving our waistlines intact and our homes less cluttered, but would decrease our overall …
Lost Marbles
Sometimes stated as scientific fact, others consider it an urban myth: the average pre-schooler laughs about 400 times a day, whilst the typical grown-up laughs just 15 times. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that no matter how the numbers actually fall, the daily laugh gap between kids and adults is definitely quite wide. Clearly, grown-ups would probably be a lot less stressed and have way more fun if they upped their laugh quota. But here’s the weird thing: show me an adult that laughs in the ballpark of 40 times a day, and I’ll show you an individual other people would …
Where Superheroes Get Their Gadgets
Where do modern superheroes go to purchase the latest in high-quality crimefighting gear? The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, of course. …
Public Displays of Silliness on the Rise
So in last week’s Insider newsletter (you're getting that, right? If not, hop to it!), I wrote about meeting Ann, a long-time nurse who has been wearing her trademark red clown nose for the better part of 35 years. She not only wears it at the hospital where she works, but at places like the grocery store, too. I urged readers to be more like Ann. Too often, we play it safe for fear of encountering the wrath (and dirty looks) of those with full-blown Adultitis. To be sure, Ann encounters more than her fair share of those types when she’s wearing the red nose. But she also brightens the day of …
[Read more...] about Public Displays of Silliness on the Rise
What Taking Pictures Taught Me About the Power of Play
The photo above is not some Photoshop trick. It's a real shot of me responding to a damsel in distress whom I heard with my super hearing. (Actually it's the result of dozens and dozens of violent leaps onto the bed hoping my camera and his self-timer with continuous shots feature would capture something cool. We almost lost Kim's bedside lamp and days later, my neck and back still hurt, but it was totally worth it.) …
[Read more...] about What Taking Pictures Taught Me About the Power of Play