great reminder as we head towards father's day...

i pulled this from a post over at richardexley.typepad.com - a really great writer - not just a blogger, but a real-deal writer. you should read the whole post, but if you're too lazy to click the link, here's the part that really made me think:

It is said of James Boswell, the famous biographer of Samuel Johnson, that he often referred to a special day in his childhood when his father took him fishing. The day was fixed in his mind, and he often reflected upon many of the things his father had taught him in the course of their fishing experience together.

After having heard of that particular excursion so often, it occurred to someone much later to check the journal that Boswell's father kept to see what he had said about the fishing trip. Turning to that date, the reader found only one sentence: "Gone fishing today with my son; a day wasted."

For the elder Boswell, it seemed a day wasted. For his son, it was a day to be remembered, one that shaped him for the rest of his life!

The younger Boswell's experience reminds us that life's most valuable lessons are seldom learned in the times of formal training. Rather, they are passed from one generation to the next during a shared experience, a mutual project, or a special camping trip. At the time we are seldom aware that anything rare or lasting has happened. It is only later, when we look back, that we realize that something of real significance has occurred.

In light of that, let me encourage you to take time to do fun things with your children. Remember many of life's most profound experiences are unplanned. They are simply the product of time spent together in an atmosphere of love and trust.

oof. that's so true - not just for parenting (as terrifically applicable as it is) - it works for relationships of all kinds i believe. whether in at home, at church, at work, at school - how you relate to your work, to your responsibilities, to your walk with God - all of it. much more is learned and taught in the day-to-day than in the classroom.