70-something degrees. Sun shining. Low humidity.
Moose and Bee are old enough and my backyard is cool enough that they are starting to be able to go outside without me. I can be inside doing something and they can make their own fun outside. Don't get me wrong...inside doing something means doing something in the kitchen, a room with a great view of of the back yard. And I peek out at them every other breath I take. They are not unsupervised.
There's a little voice in the back of my head that whispers about the possibility of something happening. I do my best to ignore it. I try not be to too "when I was that age..." about raising my own children because the world in 1980-something is not the same world as today.
But in this instance, I get a little "when I was that age..."
I think playing outside with each other is good. They don't need constant adult interaction. They know where I am if they need or want me, as proven by the handful of times they come up to the door to talk to me. I always ask them if they're ready to come in yet, and there response is always "No!"
They find sticks in the yard and pretend to have magic wands. Bee brought his wand up to the door and turned me into a penguin, then a monkey, then a frog today. There's some world in the sandbox out there where there little trucks are alive and have personalities. The upper deck of their fort turns into a pirate ship and they call down to whoever's on the ground: "Ahoy down there!"
This is one of the things I want most for my kids: to let them be kids. To have unstructured play time where there imaginations are free to roam. To get a little dirty and not worry about it. To allow them to learn that they don't need to be constantly "doing something" and that sometimes the best fun can be had when you aren't doing anything.
No comments:
Post a Comment