DFWdaddy Because every dad is a working dad.

What we're building this week at Lowe's

Saturdays are special days for dads and their kids.

As dads, we hurtle ourselves out of bed every morning to confront whatever the day throws at us. Our jobs, whether it’s one we love or one we hate, all to often take us away from the people who matter most. We spend countless hours with folks who are virtual strangers instead of joyous days with the ones we know as well as we know ourselves. After toiling for untold hours all week long, we need the weekends to connect with the people we love.

To help me cope, there are three weekends of each month to which TheKiddo™ and I most look forward—because we get to play with hammers! The first weekend of the month is at Home Depot. The second and third weekends of the month are at Lowe’s.

I know, I know. It’s an attempt by these two monstrous corporations to brainwash our children. Lowe’s Build and Grow (from 10 to 11 a.m.) and Home Depot’s Kids Workshops (from 9 a.m. to Noon) are efforts to make our kids suggest destinations whenever we are in need of hammers, nails, plants or building ephemera. It’s a beautiful piece of “branding.”

I’ve spent most of my adult life working in advertising/marketing/communications. Building this sort of emotional expectation is brilliant. And effective. Every time we’re at either venue, TheKiddo™ wants to wander the store, look at the tools, and play with the plants in the garden center. As long as it’s fun, I’ll put up with the subtle efforts to indoctrinate TheKiddo™ into the consumer mindset.

Perhaps we’ll see you this weekend at Lowe’s as we build the jewelry holder just in time for Valentine’s Day. Or in a couple of weeks when we build the LoweBot. Or possibly even at Chik-fil-A after we’ve finished (but that’s a story for another post).

What we're building on the 27th

I’m starting to think I’m even more excited about this than TheKiddo™.

And that’s quite an accomplishment.