Thanksgiving – Page 4 – Disney Leadership Keynote Speaker

Father Son Traditions

Yesterday, you heard a promise. Here it is, the traditions a mid life Father put in place, using a lion’s share of midlife creativity. It would be easy to discount their value, because they are so simple.

Bear Hug
One, two, three
Twistee Treat Day
Food For Families
Dinner Prayer
You’ll never get in trouble for being honest
If you lined up all the boys in the world….

What simple, repeatable traditions do is ingrain key messages. Simple messages. Life altering messages.

While we are insanely busy, we all have one life to live. We ought to be insanely thankful for that, and then set out to make the most of it.

PS. If you regularly follow Mid Life Celebration, you already know there’s a really strong chance each tradition will be explained in future posts, maybe as soon as tomorrow. And if f you’re new here, welcome.

Mid Life Creativity

Do you ever have moments, seasons, or even longer stages of life where you question many things? Or maybe you find yourself lost and confused. Or, overwhelmed.

Mid Life creativity is critical in moving from a mid life crisis to a mid life celebration. Several times yesterday, I thought about it being Monday. Monday is “Twistee Treat Day”. And so is Friday.

Seemingly insignificant, or trivial, at first glance, isn’t it?

You see, as a mid-life father of a nine-year old, in many ways, I was a “fish out of water” when our son was born.

What to do, right? Well, it seemed like a good idea to find small ways to create lasting memories (traditions).

Perhaps the main reason this is challenging for me is because, when I tried to recall these things with my Dad and my Grandfather, I was coming up empty. Both men loved me and I loved them.

I just simply don’t remember any special things that we did together.

Tomorrow I’ll share a creative mid-life list of some of the things that are so simple, and yet so significant, that they will last life time. Who wouldn’t want that?

I Must…

I have to be the most patient person in the world, so that our son (9) will understand how patience works.

I must also be the most thankful person in the world so our son will understand how thankfulness works.

Celebrating Thanksgiving every November, or going to Church once a week to give thanks simply doesn’t cut it.

I must become the most thankful person in the world.

There is no other way.

Stuck?

Little bit. Maybe it’s the cold. Maybe not. Maybe it’s the time difference. Maybe not. Maybe it’s writer’s block. Maybe not.

Whatever it is, I’m thankful for it.

What?

Thankful for writer’s block? As a writer, are you telling me you’re thankful that you can’t write?

Absolutely!

The simple fact of addressing something honestly can be liberating. Plus, the fact that most of the time writing comes easy, well, that inevitably will lead to days where it doesn’t.

So, I’m abundantly thankful for both sides of the coin. Are you? Make it a great, and thankful, day. Because if you don’t, who will? If not today, when? Carpe diem.