One Variable

Our weekends at home aren't very programmed.

As a result, our kids will often find themselves sitting around with no plans.

They've usually used up all their screen time before the sun comes up and so, after breakfast they're left with the perpetual question ...

What do we do now?

At the time of writing this, our kids are 7 and 9.

They really are each other's best friend. The pandemic accelerated and somewhat forced this, which continues to be a beautiful gift.

They know each other really well and they often play together for hours.

Despite all this, on some weekends, it feels like they've played all the things and are now stuck.

What do we do now?

Then we hear a small knock, followed by a slow and cautious opening of our front door.

It's our neighbour's kid.

All of a sudden, one variable has been introduced to the otherwise balanced equation.

This changes everything.

All the things that have already been played, can now be played again.

Everything that feels old, now feels new again.

What do we do now? Everything you've already done.

***

Paying attention to this got me thinking about the ruts we fall into sometimes.

Doing the same old thing, the same old way.

Often I've found myself thinking, I need to change everything in order to get out of this pattern.

That's not really true, is it?

Just change one thing.

Introduce one variable.

It may just change everything.