美丽星期五 Every Friday

 “每个星期五，爸爸都和我早早地出门。
无论寒风刺骨，大雪纷飞，阳光明媚，还是阴雨蒙蒙。“

All through the week, a father and son duo look forward to their special time. Every Friday, they'd take a stroll through the neighbourhood and have breakfast at their favourite diner.

My kids enjoyed this heartwarming and simple tale of a boy and his father spending time together, since the little boy was 3 years old.

Reminds me of that love doesn't need to be complicated - setting aside time regularly to do something mutually enjoyable can be very rewarding for all.
Time to just be with each other.
Time to slow down and see other face to face.
Time to listen to and talk with each other.
Time to connect amidst the busyness of life.
Buckets filled, love tanks topped up, for the days ahead. 

儿时的日常生活点滴
将会成为孩子日后的温馨回忆。

Do you have family rituals or special times with your kids?

Maybe your child may have an idea for special times together after reading this!

Author Dan Yaccarino Talks About His Inspiration for Every Friday

"I guess the Friday breakfasts came about because like most dads, I sometimes didn't feel like I saw my son enough. Some weeks, our Friday breakfasts were the only time he and I had to talk or just share some time together.

I look back on when we started what became our little tradition. He was in preschool and had to start sharing his mom and dad with a new little sister. I wanted him to have some time when he didn't have to put up with a crying baby who yanked his ears, which he patiently tolerated. He and I soon looked forward to Fridays and the diner's owner, Nick, as well as a variety of regulars, warmly greeting us. To their continued astonishment, he consumed an entire adult-size order of pancakes and a side of bacon, of which I was very proud. I have fond memories of us watching people trudging through the snow and rain as he and I were cozily nestled in a booth, a little oasis from the outside world. As much as we loved Nick’s Diner, I think we both preferred the small journey we took each week to get there. It may have been a mere four blocks, but it was full of adventure: greeting familiar faces, window shopping and monitoring the progress of a building on the corner going up story by story.

Nick's Diner has since closed, so our breakfasts have been relocated to another and like that building, my son is now tall and strong. I look back on his wonder of the world and fascination of even the smallest things. Even though it was only a few years ago, life seemed a bit less complicated. My hope for Every Friday is for dads, and moms, to set aside some time to be with their children. It doesn't have to be breakfast on Friday, but it should be some time that they can count on to be with just you. And perhaps many years from now, they will carry on the tradition with their own children."