The best $4 ever spent

When I was growing up, it was a Christmas tradition for my family to take the local train system (SEPTA) from Delaware to Philly to visit the exhibits at the old Gallery mall. It was a rough, dirty, and crowded ride, and it felt like forever as it stopped at every station. My grandparents would take my mother when she was growing up.

Decades later it still left a positive impact on me.

I went to the transport office and got a map of all the local tram routes - we hung it on the wall, and my child and I rode every tram from one end to the other.

Took a few weeks to ride all the trams in Helsinki, and it got a bit boring towards the end as several tram routes terminated in the same location. But every tram we'd get on in the middle, ride to one end of the line and go out for a walk, then ride to the other end.

Recently I suggested we do it again, as the trams have been renumbered a little, and there are two new lines available but he's lost interest. Shame, but doing the original routes was a lot of fun and I still have the route map on my wall along with the star-stickers we placed on it to mark the route numbers we'd completed!

We took our kids to Disney World once.

When asked what their favorite part of the trip was, they responded..

The hot tub.

At the hotel.

My kids light up the most when I am fully engaged with them, fully present, entertaining their ideas, and asking questions.

Their favorite family trip so far? When we traveled to Arkansas to mine for crystals. AKA, dig in the dirt all day. They saw it on a YouTube video. They asked to go. So we obliged. I had never been to Arkansas. It's beautiful.

We stayed at a resort, Diamonds Old West Cabins, with a huge playground outside the cabins, archery, and a bubble party every evening at 6 pm.

They still talk about that trip.

This really hits home. Like everyone, I tend to fall into routines and get comfortable with the familiar. But having kids constantly pushes you out of that comfort zone because they're excited by things that might seem small or inconvenient to you. Embracing their enthusiasm is not only good for them but for you too. It brings some variety and breaks the routine. I always have to resist the urge to tell my kids, "No, we're not doing that because..." Just going with the flow and joining in their little adventures is incredibly rewarding. It's not just about making them happy—you gain just as much. Their joy is just the bonus.

Is this not an obvious "no-shit-sherlock" thing to anyone who ever hung out with a kid?