Triple Dead Cockroach

When I was in Maryland this past weekend, Cousin Dave suggested to his two young lads that they demonstrate the "triple dead cockroach" for me. Down they all went on the carpet of Uncle and Auntie's living room, piled one upon the other, and not necessarily in order of descending age. As you can see, the result is a clearly imaginative rendition of a Triple Dead Cockroach.

I chuckled at their creativity. What fun when a dad is playful with his kids! It's one of the things I most enjoyed observing when I taught at the lower elementary level: children are naturally playful, turning imagination and creativity into all kinds of fun interactions and unexpected ideas.

Playfulness is also one of the things I enjoy watching in Husband. He plays with words. He plays with the cats. He plays with ideas. He involves his kids in play when they're around. He plays with his cooking. He just knows how to play like an expert. Had he been there to see the Triple Dead Cockroach, I think he would have been as amused as I.

I've been reading a book recently about leadership through the lens of family systems theory. It's The Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, by Edwin H. Friedman. The book practically makes my hair stand on end as I'm reading a totally different approach to leadership, one that rings clear and true with my observations over the years ... only Friedman says it better than I ever could.

One of the things Friedman noted in the passage I was reading a couple of days ago was the importance of playfulness. The lack of it is a symptom, he says. When you can't be playful in an organization (be it a family, a church, a school, or a governmental organization), that's a clear signal that dysfunction has set in.

I know there are people at my place of work who would scoff at this--so if they're reading, they can just go away now and study their Bibles or write policies--but I think my university could use a bit more play. Like the wearing of tiaras. And croquet on the front lawn. And playing with words until everyone is laughing. And matching your tie to your lecture topic for the day (my friend Pedrito!). And chuckles over Bible stories that God put there for us to chuckle at. And the telling of vivid, fun stories. And laughing at ourselves as we observe our own irrational oddities. And a Piggy-themed Party to celebrate the end of the swine flu scare. And maybe even a bit more of the Triple Dead Cockroach.

That's all I have to say about that.