Last night we needed to go to Lowe’s to return some flooring we had bought for our bathroom remodel.
We decided to just go as a family and get the kids out of the house. So after dinner we all loaded up in the car and headed out.
We got to Lowe’s, loaded the flooring onto a cart, got Joseph situated, and headed inside.
Almost immediately, Brooks spotted the tiny blue Lowe’s buckets they were selling and nearly lost his mind talking about all the things he could do with them. Joseph, meanwhile, was shouting out everything he saw.
Jillian got in the return line and I took the boys to wander around the store.
They remembered that the last time we were at Lowe’s there had been an AI-powered robot driving around, so we were on a mission to find it.
We checked the docking station. Nothing.
So we started walking up and down the aisles.
“Robot, where are you?” Joseph shouted over and over again.
We searched the entire store.
No robot.
Eventually Jillian called and told us it was time to leave. Brooks was convinced the robot hadn’t come out because Mom hadn’t helped us look for it and suggested we try again as a family next time.
Luckily, when we got outside, Jillian distracted them with the tiny blue Lowe’s buckets.
Crisis averted.
Since we were already out—and had a gift card—we decided to stop for ice cream.
Being gluten-free, my options were limited, so I ordered a milkshake. Jillian got a cone, Brooks got a waffle bowl that was approximately the size of his head, and Joseph got a small baby cone.
While we waited for our ice cream, the boys and I sat outside watching cars go by.
I told them to point out the ones they liked.
Brooks picked Teslas and trucks.
Joseph picked every single car.
After we finished eating, we hung around for a bit while Jillian finished her cone. That’s when the boys decided it was time for exercise.
Suddenly the sidewalk outside the ice cream shop turned into gym class.
Squats.
Jumping jacks.
Lunges.
Walk push-ups.
We just kept calling out exercises and they kept doing them.
By this point I was wondering where all the energy was coming from.
Eventually it was time to head home, get the boys to bed, and get ready for the next day.
Later that night, while working on things for this project, I found myself thinking about the evening.
For Jillian and me, the night started as a necessary errand.
We didn’t want to run errands after a full day of work.
We were frustrated that the flooring we bought wasn’t going to work.
It was another item on a long list of responsibilities.
Just one more thing that needed to get done.
But for the boys, it was something entirely different.
It was hunting for a robot.
It was a new blue bucket and all the possibilities of what could go inside it.
It was ice cream while watching cars drive by.
It was spotting a fire truck and an ambulance in the parking lot.
It was turning the sidewalk into a gym.
As I wrote recently about our hike at Mission Trails, kids have a way of experiencing the world differently than adults do. They aren’t worried about schedules, return policies, or home improvement projects. They’re looking for adventure.
It’s the same lesson I learned during our trip to the zoo. Adults tend to focus on the destination while kids are busy enjoying the experience.
We all did the exact same thing last night.
But we lived two completely different evenings.
For us, it was an errand.
For them, it was an adventure.
I guess the lesson is that there’s fun to be found in almost anything if you’re willing to see it through the eyes of a child.
It wasn’t Disneyland.
It wasn’t a vacation.
It wasn’t even a trip to the park.
It was a trip to Lowe’s.
And somehow these two boys managed to turn it into an adventure.
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