By Tim Kadlec CHAPTER 4

Chapter FOUr · by tim KadleC

CulTuRe of PeRfoRManCe

y parents were big fans of family time. They loved to get

me and my four siblings together to do things. We went on a lot

of family trips. Every Sunday was family movie night. They took

any chance they could get to have the family doing something together.

A good example of this was choosing a Christmas tree. Now, some

parents would be OK with grabbing a tree from a tree lot nearby. But not

my parents. To them, this was another opportunity to do something as a

family — to create some family memories. So every December, we would

pile together in the van and drive to a quiet, thickly wooded part of the

forest that was full of prime candidates for the perfect Christmas tree.

We took our time — picking out a Christmas tree was not something

to rush. We walked around for hours in the deep snow trying to find a tree

that was just right. We never worried about taking precautions to ensure

we would find our way back to the van — that was something that just

happened. My dad was great with directions and always seemed to know

just which way to go.

M