“If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.”

— Bruce Barton

“Burgerville”, my daughter said.

And so it was. Lunch would be at Burgerville.

Burgerville - Local, Sustainable, Conscientious

Burgerville is to the Pacific Northwest, what In-N-Out Burger is to California.

Fast food done right.

Local ingredients, calorie counts on receipts, tasty food, friendly staff, creative menu items, accommodations for bicyclists, and a commitment to being a good corporate citizen. What’s not to love?

But as good a company as they try to be, this story is not about Burgerville.

It is about spending lunchtime with my daughter.

You see, I was faced with a choice this morning. A choice between doing the giving thing and doing the easy thing.

Tessa was home from school because of conferences. My wife suggested I have lunch with her, but I had a noontime meeting and a lot of work to do.

At the same time I was challenged to give something extra today by a caring, kindness blogger, Catherine. That is the kind of challenge worth accepting. Clearly, going home to have lunch with my daughter was the giving thing to do. But it would be far easier just to stay at work.

My choice?

I made time by doing more. More work, faster, with enthusiasm. I promised myself I would get several high priority things done before lunch. And I did.

The result?

I got extra work done. We supported a company doing good things. I got to give something extra.

But most importantly, my daughter was happy to have lunch with Daddy.

Lunched enthusiastically with my daughter.