Serious Fun

Courage, rewarded

I recently accompanied my eldest son to Webelos camp, at the Tomahawk Scout Reservation near Rice Lake, Wisconsin.   We joined a group of 10-year-old boys and their dads for about four days.   I wrote about one aspect of the trip on another blog to which I contribute, Leadershipandcommunity.com. (It is a wonderful blog, with a great crew of regular contributors and an interesting mix of guests.)  In that posting, I focused on storytelling.  As it happens, my decision to go to camp was a story unto itself.

I didn’t want to go to camp.  At other times I might have felt differently, but not this summer.  Ethical Leaders in Action is about one month old, with client engagements underway and a small flurry of sales activity occupying my days.  By night, I am teaching business ethics in the MBA Program at the Carlson School.  I’m also a dad, a spouse, and a homeowner…so going off to summer camp was not something I anticipated with joy.   My son wanted us to go together, and it was certainly a good thing to do, so I agreed (enthusiastically, on the outside), but the prospect of actually doing it left me with something between high-grade stress and low-grade dread.  I seriously contemplated bringing my laptop to the woods.

Then I had lunch with my dear friend, Neil Posnansky.  I told him I was going to camp, and Neil lit up.  “We did that a couple of years ago!  We had a blast!”  He told me what to expect in terms of logistics and accommodations, but mostly he related the pure pleasure of hanging out with the boys, young and old, while watching your kid experience a host of fun things for the first time.  It changed my attitude.

Neil is a talented guy, an MBA and a seasoned and certified project manager.   Many of his skills are well-defined and highly marketable.  Among his gifts, though, is something that might otherwise be overlooked: Neil absolutely knows how to have fun.  He knows how to recreate, in ways that invite others to the party, wherever it might be.  I have known Neil literally all my life, and I guess I have observed this gift, but it is just now that I can fully appreciate it.  It takes a certain practical wisdom to play with enthusiasm, laugh early and often, and relax when it is time to relax.  It is a virtue, and it is contagious.

I channeled Neil at camp.  I turned off my phone most of the time (proof: one charge lasted the entire time), hung out with my son, enjoyed the fresh air, laughed at marginal food and terrible jokes, and had a great time.  Oh, yes:  so did my son.   It was about him, after all…

Great memories are here for us, if we pay attention.

CAW