The Three Amigos
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Hello! I’m Aaron Kardell. In this Sunday newsletter, I pick one random topic weekly to go deep on and have some disparate quick hits at the end.
One of my smartest moves as a Dad was also purely accidental.
It all started six years ago when my kids were 8 and 3. At the time, every fifth or sixth weekend, Kate would be on call over the weekend and have to go in to work. On these weekends alone together, I was looking for ways to have intentional time with my kids rather than have us all resort to screen time the whole weekend. I would find fun things for the three of us to go do together. But sometimes, one of the kids would drag their feet and not want to leave the house.
Somehow, I came up with the idea of branding us as The Three Amigos and these special outings as Three Amigos Time. I wanted to create the allure of something unique that just the three of us got to go do. While somewhat accidental, branding these times as special had the impact of actually turning otherwise ordinary activities into something we all looked forward to. We wanted to plan ahead for these times.
Since then, we’ve expanded the scope of what we do from the simple, like bike rides to breakfast or lunch out together, to the more substantial, like a weekend trip to Chicago with just the three of us.
As Kate has fortunately had fewer weekends on call, there’s been less of a natural excuse for Three Amigos Time.
Tomorrow at 9am, the kids and I will head out on a long bike ride. Kate’s not on call this weekend. I fear the collective desire to hang out as The Three Amigos may not last much longer as my oldest will inevitably become too cool to hang out with us. So now I’m cashing in every opportunity for these special times together before their desire to participate fades away.
This Week’s Quick Hits
A friend just launched their service called Tokyo Concierge. I was lucky customer #1 on our recent trip to Japan, and I can’t recommend the service highly enough. It was super helpful to have someone I could text during the trip and help us get reservations or other recommendations along the way. If you’re planning a trip to Japan- check it out! You won’t be disappointed.
Photo from Three Amigos!, the movie, by HBO Studios – all rights reserved