If we left him alone, my oldest dude would probably be content to read and watch t.v. all day. That’s why, for a week or so this summer, we sent him off to a leadership conference. Yeah, we didn’t think that sounded like all that much fun either, but his mom and I wanted to get him out of his comfort zone a little and show him that life can exist and be fun off the page and the screen.

Everybody has their own comfort zone. While I might be all right at a party talking to just about anyone on any topic, (My wife says I could talk to a tree. She’s only worried they’ll start answering back.) there are others — with equally valid strategies — who would rather talk very little. Not a problem. However, I’m firmly of the belief that Eleanor Roosevelt was right: “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

As adults, we can pick and choose when we decide to push against our boundaries. I think it’s our job as dads to help our little dudes find their boundaries — their comfort zones — and, if not blast through them, then at least start expanding them a little bit. As little dudes and dudettes, we need to experience new things or we’ll never be open to change as we get older. Then we’ll become that calcified old man ranting at the kids to get off his lawn and nobody wants that.

So, yeah, we threw my oldest little dude into the shark-infested waters of a leadership camp. The first thing he said to me when I picked him up at the end of the week was, “I can’t wait to do this again next year.” And his worldview got just a bit broader.

– Richard

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