Friday Forward - Simple Traditions (#437)
We constantly add complexity to our life. What if we embraced simplicity?
About seven years ago, I wrote a Friday Forward titled 18 Summers, which reflected on the finite time we have with our kids at home. I wrote that post before an RV trip with my wife and kids, who at the time were 13, 11 and 8 years old. It has become the Friday Forward I’ve heard about most from readers around the world, with many sharing how it inspired them to plan a family adventure of their own.
True to the message of that post, those summers have flown by. Seven years later, that 13-year-old is now in college, with the 11-year-old joining her next fall. I’m struggling to understand how it happened so fast.
Sensing that I’m in the last stretch of my 18 summers, I had a special request for Father’s Day this year. In lieu of gifts, our family went to Cape Cod to try a cool new concept called Autocamp, a campground of retrofitted Airstream cabins that enhances the traditional camping experience with a better night’s sleep. This is perhaps better known today as glamping.
On our second day at Autocamp, we took a family bike ride, made a barbeque dinner over the campfire and then attempted to recreate a tradition from that RV trip to Yellowstone seven years ago: the skillet cookie.
On that 2017 trip, we stumbled upon this amazing invention as we tried to figure out the best way to use our cookie dough without an oven. One night, we placed our frying pan over a campground firepit with a cooking grate and spread the cookie dough across the pan. Once the cookie was baked, we dumped a pint of ice cream on top before diving in. The cookie didn’t stand a chance against our five spoons—it was gone within minutes.
Last weekend, as it happened, our Airstream cabin came with a cast iron skillet and similar firepit with a grate, allowing us to rekindle our family tradition. We attempted to recreate the original skillet cookie which was our best attempt out of a few since, debating whether the cookie needed to be cooked on one side or both, how much it needed to cool before the ice cream was added on top and if we had eaten it from bowls or directly out of the pan. My picture from Friday Forward of five spoons in an empty pan proved we had eaten out of the skillet, so that’s what we did again.
While very simple in nature, reviving this tradition triggered a warm sense of nostalgia for the whole family, as well as a tremendous spike in glucose. We followed our dessert with a card game we’d discovered during the COVID lockdowns that had everyone in tears of laughter at one point or another.
Off the high of this great family evening, I have a few reflections:
While it’s natural to worry about whether we have enough time, what really matters is using the time we have well. Time spent lamenting or wishing for more time is not time well spent.
While we seem to constantly find ways to add complexity to our life, deep down I believe what we want most is simplicity. This is especially true if simplicity involves spending time doing things that bring us joy with the people who matter most.
While we have certainly done “fancier” things as a family, I wouldn’t say the added expense or luxury of those things created additional joy. In contrast, there is a warm comfort to be found in simple traditions shared with loved ones.
As it turned out, a bike ride, a barbeque, a skillet cookie and a card game were about as perfect a day as I could’ve asked for on Father’s Day, or on any other day for that matter.
As you kick off your summer, take time to reflect on how you might be able to create or uphold a tradition with those you care about most. When you do, take a minute to think how you might get more enjoyment from that tradition if you replace complexity with simplicity.
Quote of The Week
"Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy.” - Isaac Newton
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For this week’s Leadership Minute, I wrote about an essential hiring best practice that I’m shocked more companies don’t do—learn how backchannel references can help you avoid a critical hiring mistake. Read The Post
I've come to look forward to your e-mails on Fridays. It's my favorite e-mail of the week. It's the one e-mail that I slow myself down and read for the simple enjoyment of it. This one was very nostalgic and brought back a lot of fond childhood memories.
"what really matters is using the time we have well" - my favorite quote in this article.
Great article and great reminders. Time seems to pass faster than we think it will. We just spent the weekend with our grandson. At one point we looked at each other and said how did it happen so fast!