As I walked out of my office today, I happened to notice this scene that my son Ethan set up with his LEGO police force. He has police cars, a police station and all kinds of police officers.
At first glance, it looks like LEGO’s finest are enjoying some pizza together. You can see the pizzas and drinks on the table and a chef standing off to the side. I was pretty impressed with the set-up. It looks like these guys are having a great time. (I actually ended up having pizza for lunch today)
Then I noticed something pretty significant. All of the officers’ hat and helmets are off and sitting neatly behind them. I was curious to hear from Ethan why he did this. When he got home from school, I asked him about it and he said, “I don’t know.”
I know why he did it. Growing up, my step-father taught me to always remove my hat at the dinner table. If I was wearing one when I sat down to eat, he would remind me to take it off. It’s so in my head now (20+ years later) that when I go into a restaurant with a hat on, I ask myself, “would Greg say something to me about wearing this hat if he was here with me right now?” It might sound silly but it’s definitely true.
The funny thing is that my kids don’t wear hats so it’s not like I’ve harped on them to remove them (not yet anyway). It just goes to show that kids are listening and observing what we’re doing as parents. For once, it seems like we’re doing something right and that’s a pretty cool feeling.
I’ll claim victory for today. Tomorrow is a different story.
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