Too Cold Outside? Try The Alphabet Game

What I have always told my kids is to make the most of each day! When I think they are spending too much time on the computer or in front of the TV, I’ll ask “Are you making the most of today?” Or if they complain about having to go somewhere with me, I’ll say, “Well, you have to go, so you might as well find a way to make the most of it!”

This weekend  my daughter  asked, “When it’s this cold out, how am I supposed to make the most of my day?” (I had just settled in on my couch to catch up on DVR, but thinking that wouldn’t be setting a good example, I quickly got up.)

Now, this idea is surely not original. I am not usually so clever so someone at some time must have planted this seed in my head. The alphabet game. So simple, it’s brilliant. You put the letters of the alphabet in a bowl, then pick a letter and think of three things to do that start with that letter. Take the letter B.

We brainstormed (which didn’t count as a B activity by the way) and we came up with book, bake, and boogie.

 I read a book out loud with her. Gosh, how many years has it been since I’ve done that? I’m not sure why when she got to the age of being able to read on her own, I stopped reading with her.

Next, baking. A little low on baking supplies, but no worries, there’s now an app for that. I can just stick in what ingredients I have, and recipes pop up. As many can attest, my skills in the kitchen are, well, actually nonexistent. But its about the time spent together doing it, rather than the outcome of the final product. Thank goodness.

Then we boogied. There in our home where no one could see us, we could blast our music and move any way we wanted to.  Picking the music though took compromise. We agreed on a little of her favorite, One Direction and little of my favorite, Rick Springfield (for the record, she knows the words to every one of his songs, I love that!)

And with those three B words, we knocked out the lamest of all B words: boredom.

In fact, I’m looking forward to another day at home like that. Another day in The Good Life.