Free Fun

On slowing down, staying present, and finding joy in the space between seasons.

When I was a child, my dad used a phrase I didn’t fully understand.

Free fun.

It never made much sense to me then. Now it’s woven into the fabric of our family.

This past weekend, we were embedded in it.

Location: Malibu. The challenge: camping. We’ve never camped before as a family. Football season, there’s no chance. The offseason, we like to travel. Big trips, new places. We’ve never just stayed local.

This past weekend, we did just that and camped, literally, on the sand.

A few of my colleagues were quick to remind me over the weekend that it wasn’t real camping. Maybe. It wasn’t the camping I grew up with in Northeastern Pennsylvania. But it was surely the camping I think many of us dreamt of when we imagined California.

And there we were.

Bonfire in front of us. Family all around. Connecting with neighbors setting up their tents nearby. Fighting wind gusts that no one warned us about. The kind that make pitching a tent feel like a genuine athletic event.

As the sun set, the stars showed up, and the s’mores were aplenty.

I just kept thinking: life goes so fast.

If we don’t capture these moments, these shooting stars, this space between birthdays and anniversaries, we’ll miss them entirely.

Football season is right around the corner. I can’t wait for our opener. Can’t wait to get back on the road, learn new stories, take the helmet off, dive into scheme, delve into opponents, game plans, coaches. For all of us who love college football, that fire is not just burning in us - it’s likely about to roar.