I recently shared with a friend that I went to a state park about an hour away with my kids over Chol Hamoed Pesach. I described to her how we made a delicious barbecue, threw around a football (yes, I can throw a football), and then walked about a quarter of a mile down a path to see a beautiful waterfall. Based on her response, it was clear to me that she gleaned from this that I love hiking. I think it was the part where she said, “I didn’t know you were a hiker.” I’m not sure how this was her take-home message, but in all honesty, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

As parents, it is our job to teach our children many different things. These could include a simple please/thank you, being respectful of other people’s needs, treating guests properly, or basic table manners. Sometimes parents will consult their rav or the child’s teacher for some added insight or ideas on how to best instruct their children. However, for the most part, children seem to learn by instruction and by example – until they don’t.

The birth of grandchildren is a much-celebrated event. The adoring grandparents indulge in many delightful moments contemplating the terms of endearment they will eventually be called by their adorable grandchildren. Some of the more mainstream choices are grandma and grandpa, bubby and zaidy, or saba and savta. Of course, there are multiple variations on these themes, depending on tradition or personal preference. Despite the planning and possible friendly debate that goes into making these decisions, the people whose opinions are not taken into account are the grandchildren themselves. This is unfortunate since they ultimately make the decision.

From a young age, children develop a fascination with watches. Many a watch is purchased at the dollar store as a prize for young children who are earning their keep. The disadvantage of this purchase is that the watches never work. The advantage, of course, is that the child has no idea how to tell time. The watch, which is worn upside down as often as it is worn right side up, is like a badge of honor. If you ask a kid what time it is, you might get the kind of answer I did when I queried my friend’s three-year-old grandson. Expertly flipping his wrist around, he looked at his watch and said in a worried voice, “It’s 40 cents. I’m late,” and he hurried off. I’m not sure if he was on his way to work or if he just had a play date with the toys in the next room. Either way, time was of the essence.

I recently had the pleasure of engaging in a game that I have not even thought about since I was about eight years old. It is the game of hide-and-seek. Now what most of you don’t realize is that as you get older, you also get better at the game. This basically means that, by now, I could be playing on an Olympic level, as could many of you. However, this is not exactly what happened; let me explain.

My daughter was babysitting for a three-year-old, who, like all three-year-olds, is amazingly cute. While I was standing in the kitchen minding my own business, he ran over to me, careened into my legs, and exclaimed with glee, “I found you.” Not that I knew I was missing, but being a good sport, I turned to him and exclaimed right back, “I found you, too.”

A few months ago, I was reading the newspaper when I came across the headline about an internet security guru, Daniel Kaminsky, who unfortunately passed away at the age of 42. For some reason my curiosity was piqued, so I googled the name to find out more about him. It seems that Mr. Kaminsky was responsible for detecting and identifying weaknesses in computer security to the point that the list of his accomplishments is so impressive that I can’t even understand it. His illustrious career began around the age of four, when he taught himself how to code using a computer that his father bought him from Radio Shack. Unlike many precocious youths, who are happy to fiddle around in the privacy of their own homes, Mr. Kaminsky apparently subscribed to the Star Trek motto, “Where no man has ever gone before.”