A Shockingly Positive Kiting Experience

As a general rule, I don't enjoy flying kites (as I have ranted about before).  But Monday was an exception.  Since the weekend for our "pastoral" family doesn't really start until after Sunday, we like to set Monday aside as our "family day."

The kids love saying "family day."  They say it all the time...: "Oh, its family day!"  "Maybe we could do this on family day." "Yah, and we'll watch a movie together on family day!" "Is today family day??"  I think Elliott and Caiden keep "family day" alive by the sheer force of their claim to ownership and excitement over it.  Otherwise, I might just tend toward forgetting all about it and letting it meld into every other day of the week.

For the last few weeks, on family day, David has been suggested things like kite flying, going to the park, and other things I'm not naturally inclined to do.  But somehow those innocent suggestions, consistent over time, have served to brainwash me into actually considering them as real (and maybe fun?) options for family activities.  I'm a kite and a park grinch, clearly.

But this Monday, I actually suggested the kite park myself (little pat on the back)... And David played it cool, as if this was something I normally suggest and never veto.  Only later did he confess his complete, but concealed, shock at hearing me suggest it.

I hate to say it, but we actually had a really nice time setting up kites and flying them, enjoying the stunning beauty of the San Francisco Bay, and making it to the end of the extraordinarily long pier in the Berkeley Marina.

One thing that helps make kite flying more enjoyable for me is an upgraded string-lett-er-out-er; the kind that unwinds itself as the kite picks up wind.  It just spins and spins; no need to manually unwind as the stupid string gets caught at each rotation...

The kids also really enjoyed the tall grasses they found in the marina.  After they tired of holding the dumb kite string, Elliott said, "Can we go play in that cool grass?"

Dave and I packed up the kites and when we went to find them, Elliott was completely camouflaged in the grass like a little lion.

Its so fun to see my kids enjoy one of my secret loves: the golden grass of summer.  It reminds me of my early childhood in Kansas.

 

In summary, I think its all about the attitude you adopt when approaching an activity.  On that day, mine was set toward positive and willing and for that I'm thankful.  Its much easier to enjoy family that way.