A Boys Imagination

Finding the treasure!

I think fathering boys was everything God built me for…I am not always the best daddy of boys, but I am a work in progress. Some of the things I love about my boys are the moments of adrenaline, the sense of urgency, the need for adventure, and the list goes on. I have tried to feed many of those needs in my little men. One of the ways I have been working with Brady is through story. I have concocted an 8 day story this last week and a half that has ended with major adventure for his little 5 year old mind. So much so…he couldn’t sleep the night before the big event. What did I do?

Simple. I made up an ongoing story that each night ended with…to be continued. I didn’t have to do too much creative digging…mostly I just talked about what I loved as a kid with him. The story involved little boys taking trips around their neighborhood, and became as elaborate as these same kids meeting up with spies for a treasure hunt. Interwoven into this long tale where truths from God’s word about what a boy must be to be a man.

Our simple map.

We talked of courage, honor, faithfulness, risk, saying thank you, looking for things and not giving up, and so much more. I shared about how you won’t always be perfect but when you aren’t you gotta learn to say your sorry and get better (maybe a little of Tiger Wood’s drama affected me here). All in all it is a precious time and one that I try to protect and keep each night.

My treasure hunter geared up with the “map” tucked in his hat!

As we neared the end of the story and my imaginative capacity… I thought a treasure hunt would be a great end. So we did just that. I copied a simple map from the internet. I used my iPhone to enhance the spy part of the experience. I also used the phone to act as a treasure detector. I hid the treasure while he was looking in another place…so there was no need to go bury something prior to the trip. He was surprised, curiously engaged the whole time, and eager to use his new found treasure to go hang out with daddy. (Doing something with the person who helped you find the treasure was part of the treasures instructions!)

So, now Brady and I will go spend a day having some lunch (quality time to talk and hang out) and then catch a movie which has been one of our favorite things to do for a while now. (plus the movie may feed our imagination). And, as you can imagine I am thinking about and dreaming of our next adventure together and the story line for that series.

Stay tuned as I am bound to post an update about that one as well.