a peek inside the fishbowl

I’m reading a freebie book I picked up at the last Social Media Breakfast. I’m not too jazzed about the book. It’s called Blog Blazers. I was hoping for new insights into the world of blogging but the whole book consists of straight Q & A with “top” bloggers and no analysis.

Several of the questions had to do with success and how top bloggers measure success. There were a lot of different answers, but many understandably mentioned earnings and ad affiliates and unique visitors and RSS subscribers. I’ve been thinking this is all very well and good but I’m not a brand, I’m a person.

A couple weeks ago I received an email that has redefined my own definition of success. What’s more, it has reinspired me and made everything I’ve done here at the Fishbowl worthwhile.

I’m posting it here with permission because I hope it inspires some of you too:

Dear Andrea,

This email is quite overdue. My apologies. I need to thank you. I grew up in a household that was, well to put it mildly not particularly pleasant. So when summer was approaching last spring I was quite unsure how I was going to entertain my son who was 4 at the time. I didn’t want to farm him out to camps for the entire summer but I had little to draw on from my childhood.
My wife has little time off and I am a business owner so time is generally tight. I decided to take the lion’s share of the summer off leaving the business to my employees to run. Using many of your suggestions, my son had the best summer ever. So did I. We have hiked in Gatineau Park, gone frogging, fishing and generally kicked back in every wild space around Ottawa. We have gone to all the public beaches, built forts and painted masterpieces.
So all I can say is thank you. When you are ignored as a child you really have few good experiences to pass on to your children. I have 2 boys now and I am embarrassed to say that I have to research diligently if I want to be a good father. Unfortunately a quirk of heredity will likely not allow me to know my boys as men or as fathers themselves. I hope I am someone that they will remember.
Finally and apology for the anonymity. Although I am far from famous, I am somewhat known throughout the community.
I am forever in your debt.

[name of author removed]

—

I hope he knows what a great dad he is, and I hope his sons appreciate the effort he’s making.

I am trying to convince people that the National Gallery in Ottawa is not a place for snooty old art lovers, but is accessible to anyone and everyone, especially kids. Kids are such creative little critters. Shouldn’t we do everything we can to encourage them?

Perhaps it sounds daunting to bring the kiddies downtown for an afternoon of art appreciation, but it doesn’t need to be. We’ve been taking the girls to art galleries for years. This is what’s worked for us:

1. Early bird catches the worm and avoids the crowds. Worried about your rambunctious toddler and/or fussy baby? The National Gallery is super for strollers and is fairly easy to get around. Check the hours and time your visit for when the gallery opens. They’re open at 10:00 a.m. most days. 

2. Co-ordinate your visit with the gallery’s Artissimo program.It’s free with general admission. Artissimo is a wonderful and thoughtful children’s program. The photo pictured above is looking down at Artissimo. There were kids of all ages – from toddler to tween – all working on different projects when we were there on Sunday.

(Sidebar: it was a big day for Sarah. Her landscape – pictured below – will be hung on a gallery wall for other children to admire. She is thrilled. She said it was a dream come true! I really love helping my kids’ dreams come true.)

3. Full tummy = happy mummy

The cafeteria at the National Gallery is shockingly inexpensive. The four of us had a big lunch there for twenty bucks. Check out my grilled veggie sandwich:

I had a tough time deciding what to eat because the other sandwiches sounded so good. Salmon was the most expensive at $5.95. There was chicken too. 

A grilled cheese (I haven’t seen bread this white in a long time) set us back about $2.50. Other lunch entrees (I think there was an eggplant parmesan) hovered in the $7.00-$8.00 range. 

4. Leave your bulky sweaters and coats in the coat room or else you’ll be forced to listen to that familiar refrain (there’s a facial expression that goes with it too): “I’m hawwwwt mummy!” If you’re wearing winter boots, consider switching them for runners or other lighter footwear.

5. Enjoy the architecture as well as the art; both inside…

… and outside:

6. Teach your children the how-to’s of art appreciation. Hands are best kept in pockets or behind our backs. Don’t lean in too much. It makes the security guards jumpy. If you’re closer than one arm’s length that’s too close.

7. Don’t try to take in too much during your visit. I used to make my kids stop and look at special paintings (“See kids, this is by a guy named Van Gogh. He’s a Dutch post-impressionist who cut off his ear!”) and read out the information on each little card. I found myself getting increasingly annoyed at their increasing boredom. It was a surefire way of getting our kids to hate going to the gallery.

Our new strategy is to let the kids lead us. We pause to look at things of interest and skip all the rest. That’s why it’s a good idea to …

8. Get a family membership. It pays for itself after only a few visits, especially if you factor in their special exhibits which always cost extra. You can easily zip in and zip out and not feel pressured to stay. When we had our family membership (since expired, sadly) it also gave me the luxury of visiting on my own time and catching up on everything I missed, sans children.

If money is an issue you should go on Thursday evenings. It’s free between 5-8 p.m. (This happens to be the only night they’re open late.)

9. Get them talking. Ask a few age-appropriate questions about the art but try not to turn the whole experience into a huge teaching lesson. (Which might be a huge turn-off.)

• What colours do you see? What shapes?
• What is this made out of?
• What do you think the artist is trying to say?
• What does this remind you of?
• What’s going on in this picture?
• If this was your own art, what title would you have given it?

10. Don’t forget the gift shop. Postcards, sketch books, or a set of shiny new set of watercolours might be enough to inspire your mini-Monet.

Any other tips to share? I’d love to hear them.

How did it go? You’ll have to click over to the original post and scroll down until you get to “Last thoughts” in order to find out. I’d love to hear from anyone who participated, and anyone who didn’t!

p.s. It’s never too late to host your own personal Shopping Embargo. I even know of someone who’s given up shopping for Lent.