It's Worth the Effort!

Yesterday was a busy day.
My husband and I had planned to take our children to the Mitt Romney rally that was happening in our city, but it ended up that only our 15-year-old son, John, and I were able to go.
John's an awesome son, and he likes watching the presidential debates, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the rally, especially the part about getting there an hour early and waiting.
I felt a little under the weather and was happy to stay home. Besides, I still had a blog post to write about helping our children learn to love America!
Well, thank goodness I was thinking about that blog post! When John said he would be OK about going early if I would download a fun game to my phone that he could play while we waited, I jumped on it.

We went and had a WONDERFUL time. The rally was held in a big outdoor amphitheater. A band played while we waited, and by the time the event started, the place was overflowing with patriotic families.
One of John’s friends from football came and sat by us. He was extra fun to sit with because he loves politics. (He even brought a notebook to take notes.)
Another friend sang the beautiful national anthem solo and later got to meet Mitt.
Mitt gave a wonderful speech that we all enjoyed.
On the way home we stopped for hot fudge sundaes.
John and I both had a wonderful time! I was so glad we went, especially when John thanked me repeatedly for taking him.
It was a great experience to share and I think we will both remember it for a long time.
One of John’s friends from football came and sat by us. He was extra fun to sit with because he loves politics. (He even brought a notebook to take notes.)
Another friend sang the beautiful national anthem solo and later got to meet Mitt.
Mitt gave a wonderful speech that we all enjoyed.
On the way home we stopped for hot fudge sundaes.
John and I both had a wonderful time! I was so glad we went, especially when John thanked me repeatedly for taking him.
It was a great experience to share and I think we will both remember it for a long time.
Moral of the Story: It’s worth the effort!
P.S. Another lesson we’ve learned over the years is that sometimes an experience isn’t quite as fun as you hope, but all is not lost.
The important thing is to try. When we do our best, even when that's not very much, the memory can still be a special thing to share. The experiences add up and become more significant over the years. In the end they are usually remembered with affection and appreciation.