You don’t have to embark on a grand road trip to have an adventure. Adventure is what you make it. Here are some tips to put a little bit of adventure back in life:
Adopt a theme song. In our family, whenever The Lion Sleeps Tonight comes on the stereo, everyone knows we’re going on an adventure. It could be a trip to get ice cream, it could be a day at the zoo or a ski hill, or a trip to Phoenix – they all start out with a little bit of “Wimoway.”
It could even be something less “adventurous” than that:
Mix it up. Announce a special dinner – and have breakfast for dinner. Make Purple Burping Cows. Eat your dessert first. And don’t forget to play your theme song!
Dress up. Put on your beachwear and take a trip to McDonald’s. Dress up in costume and play Clue. Have a silly hat day, and go play in the park together. Don’t forget your theme song!
Embrace your “issues”. Nobody is perfect. Everyone in my family is defective. In any given family, there’s someone who works too much, someone who needs extra help in school, someone in counseling, someone in four sports. It’s easy to let any of these stand between you and adventure. Instead, celebrate these problems, and realize that though you’re all broken in your own way, you’re all still perfect together. Get out there and enjoy life as a family.
And don’t forget your theme song.