Paved Paradise

There are several things I hope to be able to impart to my son as he grows up.

I want him to know the importance of being kind to others. I want him to know that learning for the sake of knowledge is a good thing. I want him to find what he's passionate about in life and find a way to make a career out of that.

And I want him to remember where he parks.

Now granted, he's more than a decade from actually having to remember where he left his car in a crowded parking lot. But I don't want to wait until he's started driving to help him learn this most valuable of all skills.

So just how do I plan on doing this? By adhering to one simple rule. I hesitate to tell you what it is because if this gets out and people start doing it, then my grand plan will be ruined. But given the limited readership of this blog in general and the even smaller likelihood anyone's still reading five paragraphs in, I feel ok sharing with those of you dedicated readers.

Here it is. I park near a light pole. At the ball fields. At the grocery store. At sporting events. I will pass up spots closer to where I'm going to get a coveted spot near a light pole. And I make sure I point this out to my son so he knows what to do.

It warmed my heart the other night when we were walking out of our Fair into the adequate but not well lit parking lot and said to him, "uh oh, I don't remember where we parked."

"Did you park near a light pole?" he asked.

Sadly, because we were directed where to park, I hadn't. But the life lesson has been learned, so I may take the next 10 years of parenting off.