There is such a thing as The Dad Flourish.

The Dad Flourish is important. The Dad Flourish is something that doesn’t necessarily make sense. You could define it as a slightly irrational display of paternal fun and affection.

It can be anything. It can be an object, an impromptu road trip, a weird game made up as you go.

The Dad Flourish is very important, for both the kids and the dad.

I personally witnessed a Dad Flourish when I was a kid. We had two cars when I was growing up. For a while, my dad drove a light blue El Camino pickup. For some reason, he had “Riseman & Sons” painted on the side. My dad worked for the state of Illinois. He did not have a side business, and being 12 and 5, my older brother and I did not work for this non-existent side business.

I don’t think he painted it himself. It was kind of fancy, cursive handwriting. There might have even been a dropshadow. So my dad paid someone to paint a non-existent business sign (referencing his sons!) on the driver side door of his El Camino.

CLASSIC DAD FLOURISH.

I have a great time with my kids. I have danced with them on many occasions. But, despite that being well and good, that’s not really a Dad Flourish.

So, here is one thing I know for sure *is* one.

There is a Rec Center in the neighboring town. They have an indoor playground I sometimes take the kids to. They also have a gym. It consists of three full-sized courts right next to each other. It’s big, and usually pretty empty.

I like shooting baskets, but the kids aren’t yet strong enough to shoot baskets at the full height of the hoops. Probably as a result of this, they don’t really like playing with the basketballs too much.

So, I got this idea in my head. I take quarters and give them to the kids to throw and chase after. Often I will whip quarters too. If you throw it right you can get a good roll going, making a giant circle on the floor (these are throws close to the ground, not big airborne ones).

We haven’t been asked to stop yet, but as I mentioned before, the gym is usually pretty empty, and, ummmmm, I… keep an eye out for the “authorities”. This whole quarter-throwing business is slightly irresponsible, stupid and wonderful.

Dad Flourish. 🙂