We all know that we should spend more time with our families. We may feel guilty that the demands of our profession have interfered with the quality time that we want to share with our family and that we know would be good for family relationships. But, if you suddenly found you had a space of time to have some fun with your family, would you know what to do.
Let me invite you to experience some fun with your family dreaming about having some fun with your family. This could take place at the end of a meal or when you are sitting together in a family room. The exercise is simple. Take a deck of cards and place them in the midst of the family. The first person cuts the cards and reveals a card. If the card is 5 or below, that person is asked to share an experience that s/he thinks would be fun for the family and could be done in less than half a day at minimum expense. If the card is between 6 and 10, then the experience should be one that the family might have to save for and may take more than a day. If the card is a Jack, Queen, or King, then the person should think of a fun trip that they would like the family to take. An ace allows the person to choose the restaurant for the next family meal out.
After the person shares, the next person is given the deck to cut and the shareing continues. A list of fun experiences is kept for future reference. The process accomplishes two things. First, you empower all members of the family to participate in identifying what is fun for the family. Second, you begin to identify and anticipate some family fun times that meet different time and financial conditions.
Have fun.
