Jerry Seinfeld was asked about Father’s Day. Does he do anything special to celebrate? Any specific festivities with his kids? You’d expect Seinfeld, a legendary comedian, to respond with a funny quip about being a dad. But he didn’t. Seinfeld said: “I don’t need any special days. They’re all special. We spend a lot of time together, and I enjoy every second of it.” In just a few seconds, Seinfeld shared a few profound lessons: *** Lesson 1: Find joy in the ordinary We tend to glamorize extraordinary events. • Lavish vacations • Getting a dream job • Winning a championship But those events are a tiny part of our lives. Truth is, most of our days are ordinary. “I’m a believer in the ordinary and mundane,” Seinfeld says. There’s joy in ordinary. There’s satisfaction in doing the mundane. *** Lesson 2: Relish the “garbage” time Seinfeld doesn’t believe in “quality time.” It's a myth he thinks it misses the whole point. “I always find that a little sad when [parents] say, ‘We have quality time,’” Seinfeld said. “I don’t want quality time. I want the garbage time.” • Playing in the backyard • Looking for birds at the park • Watching a movie on the couch This is “garbage” time as parent. It’s the absolute best time there is. *** Lesson 3: Eat late-night Cheerios It’s easy to get on the treadmill of life. Caught up in your goals and routines. But sometimes, we need to break the rules. Here’s how Seinfeld described garbage time with his kids: “You see them in their room reading a comic book and you get to watch that for a minute, or [having] a bowl of Cheerios at 11 o’clock at night when they’re not even supposed to be up. The garbage, that’s what I love.” It’s a beautiful description of what being a parent — and live in general — is like. There are these little moments that happen every day, but we’re often too busy to notice them. We get consumed with our goals and aspirations. We stay busy trying to optimize every second of the day. We don’t allow ourselves to eat the late-night Cheerios. *** "Quality time" is a myth. All time is a blessing. It's up to us find joy in the ordinary and make the most of every day. *** Follow @TMitrosilis for more content like this.