Painted Ladies

We had some hard moments on our family adventure today, but there was one memory that stands out. It took a group effort. Lucas was the driver. AJ was the cinematographer and I was the navigator and sound engineer. You see, Ally loves Full House. The show is set here in San Francisco. As the theme song plays, the camera scans past what are known as the Painted Ladies. Theses are brightly painted row houses that are home to the Tanner family portrayed in the show.

Our morning had not gone as planned. Ally was a great sister and took care of loving on AJ as she spent the morning at the urgent care. Our doctor from home wanted her checked. For the 2.5 hours that it took us at the doctor, Ally waited patiently. She rode around with Lucas. She persuaded him to take her to buy a snuggle to cheer AJ up. She would not let Lucas take her to the Muir Woods without her sister. She was a champ.

So as we made our way into SF, I sent my accomplices the signal. I cued up the theme song on the radio as we made our way over the hill. As it blared on the radio, she giggled and AJ said, "LOOK ALLY!" Her smile was classic. AJ caught it all on video. Who would have thought that a dorky show that came out in 1987 would inspire a precious family moment 30 years later?

Sometimes we never know how the creative efforts that we offer to the world are going to shape someone's life. I can almost promise you that when Jeff Franklin set our to create this show, he did not have visions of a 41 old mom and her daughter (who is currently the age that I was when the show was first released) sharing a sweet moment on a family vacation. We just never know.

The world needs more positive creativity. The world needs more family memories. The world needs more goofy group projects that show people how much they are loved. In the midst of the hard days, may we choose to celebrate the silly and fun and great quantities of love in this world.