Kritik und Lob » ad is on the @JimThorpeAward watch

Camp Dad launched, not unexpectedly, as a result of standard #daaad-level buffoonery.Last July, tasked with securing a place at summer camp for my then-9-year-old and then-6-year-old, I completely missed a week. Didnt register them. Flat-out forgot.The evening before the camp week was to start, I was frantically surfing through camp option after camp option -- the ones the kids wanted to do were sold out (or way too pricey for our budget).I was consulting at the time and able to take the week off from work (a luxury a lot parents dont have, short of investing their own vacation time). So partly out of desperation, partly out of price-sensitivity, partly out of the creative challenge and partly out of blissful ignorance, I decided at 11 that night to create my own camp -- a weeks worth of fun and creativity, directed by me.The kids would have no idea whats coming -- in large part, neither did I. I gave myself a budget of slightly less than what I would have spent on normal camp for them to cover a week of programming and started making a list of activities wed normally never do.The next morning, I didnt tell them what we were doing or where we were going, but it started with a surprise trip to the bulk-candy store. The kids jaws dropped -- then were stuffed with the kind of absurd candy Id never typically let them have. Camp Dad was so on.I knew regular dad Dan Shanoff could never handle the kind of fun that Camp Dad director Dan Shanoff, so I channeled a muse: Tripper Harrison, Bill Murrays seminal camp-counselor character from Meatballs, the greatest summer-camp movie of all time. If you have never seen the pivotal It... Just... Doesnt... Matter! speech by Murray, this succinctly showcases my inspiration.?*Candy overdose? It just doesnt matter!*Chuck E. Cheese? It just doesnt matter!*Sketchy water park 40 miles away? It just doesnt matter!*Quasi-harrowing parkour lessons? It just doesnt matter!*Abandoning bedtime routines by binge-watching all six Star Wars movies over six nights? It just doesnt matter!There was more -- so much more. Ice skating. Being the only non-family members at the local high school varsity basketball summer league games. Pizza. Ice cream sundaes. Screen time on all of the apps Id never normally let them use. Every day was filled with new adventures. The kids had no idea what was coming but approached every day with a glee like I had never seen before.At the end of the week, both kids said it was the best week of their lives. And if Im being honest with myself -- no offense to the attendees at my wedding or the folks who helped deliver our children -- it was the best week of my life, too.I could attribute their (and my) enthusiasm to the epic lineup of fun activities that I barraged them with -- what parent doesnt want to see their kids having such a great time or get feedback like This was the best week ever, Dad!But as I figure out what kinds of fun activities I am staking out for this summer, I realize it wasnt the mayhem -- it was my mentality.What mattered most was It just doesnt matter.When I fully embraced that idea, all typical parenting pressures evaporated in the July sunshine. I wasnt Dad -- I was Bill Murrays Tripper Harrison. The kids were relaxed. Heck, I was relaxed, despite the overload of activities and sensory inputs. (I even had patience at Chuck E. Cheese -- what bigger testimony could there be?)Im not sure I can live the Camp Dad lifestyle all the time -- it was summer, I took the week off, it was all new for the kids (and me). There were a lot of things that made it unique.But applying even a little It Just Doesnt Matter to my life worked wonders, and I had as much fun as the kids did. We may or may not have another year of Camp Dad this summer, but there is nothing stopping me -- or any of us -- from easing up just enough to make the summer more awesome.Dan Shanoff writes about parenting for espnW. Continue this conversation on Twitter by following him at @danshanoff or by liking espnWs Facebook page. Fake Air Max 97 . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Fake Vapormax . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.cheapestairmaxstore.com/fake-jordan-1-cheap.html . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Air Max Plus Tn Ultra Store . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Fake Yeezy 350 V2 . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Like pads popping in the summer heat, watch list season is yet another indication that college football is right around the corner. On Monday, the watchlist for the?Jim Thorpe Award, which honors the nations top defensive back, was released.?CB Desmond King, last years recipient, named to the 2016 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. #Hawkeyes #CFBWatchMe pic.twitter.com/Qv5km1yiJc- IowaFBLive (@IowaFBLive) July 11, 2016BOOM! Ahmad Thomas was named to the Jim Thorpe Award watch list!See more #OUDNA ?? https://t.co/43n4d8ZzGC pic.twitter.com/NfYwSdqwJg- Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) July 11, 2016Both @buddabaker32 & @SidneyJonesIV named to Jim Thorpe Award watch list. #UWHuskiesRead: https://t.co/ScIF0xoeAr pic.twitter.com/mLy6weaTEx- UW Football (@UW_Football) July 11, 2016?? | #Vols CB @CamSutton23 named to Jim Thorpe Award Watch List#CFBWatchMe?? ? https://t.co/UI5UWIUB6y pic.twitter.com/hDBc5oOnq3- Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) July 11, 2016.@derwinjames6 has been named to the Jim Thorpe Award 2016 Watch List: https://t.co/lZSkd6mmPw pic.twitter.com/Jrw1OGnCaQ- FSU Football (@FSU_Football) July 11, 2016Congratulations to Eddie Jackson for being named to the @jimthorpeaward Preseason Watch Lisst.dddddddddddd #RollTide #CFBWatchMe pic.twitter.com/Ua5nflaQgT- Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) July 11, 2016Jourdan Lewis = Jim Thorpe Award Watch List!INFO ? https://t.co/HIZsQx5yvv#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/nJSCzhmBck- Michigan Football (@umichfootball) July 11, 2016The preseason honors continue to roll in for Will Likely, who today was named to the @jimthorpeaward watch list!https://t.co/xNjEomwqNb- Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) July 11, 2016Jordan Whitehead is on the @JimThorpeAward watch list as a contender for the nations top defensive back. #Pitt #H2P pic.twitter.com/raWlav73sh- Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) July 11, 2016#Bearcats DB Zach Edwards named to the 2016 @jimthorpeaward Watch List! ??: https://t.co/9SuLefc6qM pic.twitter.com/KN39fGyrAQ- Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) July 11, 2016The Jim Thorpe Award winner is selected from three finalists and will be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 8, 2016 on ESPN. Included in this years list is Iowa senior Desmond King, who took home the award as a junior last season. ' ' '