PRACTICAL PARENTING ◽ HOME
A Day Out
by Marcy Lytle
I know that sometimes daddies take their daughters on a date, and moms do the same with the boys. I recently had a fun time hanging with 11 year old Augie on a day date, one which he planned completely. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t outrageous either, and we had the best time.
If you have multiple children, and you have a chance (or a grandparent or aunt/uncle asks) here’s what Augie chose to do on an afternoon with just the two of us:
First, he opted for indoor miniature golf which is perfect for a hot summer day. We picked out our clubs and balls, and started on the Putt Vegas course. It was fun to keep score, or not, and to watch him enjoy the challenge of each new hole.
Secondly, he wanted to shop for a Fuggler. Have you heard of these “ugly” characters? He collects them and had heard that Walmart had them. We shopped the aisles, and seriously it was like a treasure hunt to find where they were in the store. He found one and it was on serious sale! I think he felt so special to get to shop for something fun, just for him!
Lastly, Augie loves tea from HTea0 and there was one of these drive-thrus on the way home. To our pleasant surprise, we arrived during the buy-one-get-one hour, so he was delighted to grab a second one to take home to his family. I think he ordered one with lemonade in it.
I don’t get to spend a LOT of one on one time with the boys, certainly not as much as with their sister. And it’s a rare treat for one of the boys to choose their outing. I thought Augie did a great job of choosing…
A fun activity
A purchase
A snack
I think those three make for a perfect afternoon with one of the kids, when there’s a change to be with them all alone without the other kids chiming in. And it doesn’t happen often, but maybe it should happen a bit more than it does. It did both of our hearts a bit of good to chat, drive, discover, sip and hunt on a Sunday afternoon on a day out together.