Boys' Life

Memory Machine

If you're lucky, really really lucky, you have the gift of precious memories. You have the gift of self-confidence and optimism. You have the gift of happy childhood recollections doing fun things with friends. Speaking for myself, I'm happy to report I have my share. Some are so good the friends with whom I made those memories remain friends to this day.

As a parent I know it is my responsibility to provide a safe environment, to provide boundaries and necessary discipline, to set the example that points the way from selfishness  to social responsibility. It's also a parent's responsibility to provide the opportunities for the child to enjoy life, to find joy, to help the child on his or her way to collecting the happy memories that help teach life is good.

Evan and his buddy Parker got to go down to the Henry Ford Museum Friday, thanks to their Moms. The museum is holding a Titanic exhibition and, for some reason, Ev's pre-school has become infected with the Titanic bug. But the Henry Ford is an amazing place, too much for man or beast, or child, to explore in a day. In addition to the Titanic exhibit they went to see, they also got to make a stop to see the trains and planes on display inside the 9 acres under one 40 foot ceiling (displayed along with, it seems, one of everything else in the world manufactured in the last 120 years). For all the hassle those two Mom's went through to drive down to Dearborn, to corral and track two four year-olds through that vast space, I think the photo above pretty well documents the value of their efforts. Good job, Moms. Obviously these boys are well on their way to amassing a really nice collection of that most valuable commodity: Good times as a kid.