A Wholesome Day

It's not news that our kids have lost the knack to have good, clean, old-fashioned fun. They are too busy with their noses in their video games, internet, iPods and everything else impersonal that needs to get plugged in or turned off at the end of the day.

I remember being a kid. I remember climbing the big maple tree & seeing the whole neighborhood & singing, "I'm on top of the world...". I remember catching snakes, frogs, crickets, pollywogs, fireflies & baby birds. Well, the birds were more because they fell out of the nest & we'd save them from becoming lunch for a neighborhood cat. The catching of the other critters was simply for the fun of it.

During my elementary years, we lived on a dirt road. In the winter it would become a sheet of ice. We'd throw on our ice skates, make due with the bumpy ice and play hockey. In the summer we'd ride our bikes & play 'ghost in the graveyard' for as long as possible, until our parents called us in for the night.

There was a time when kids would lay in the shade of a towering tree and gaze at the sky to discover clouds that resembled bunnies & clowns. Ahhhh, the good ol' days of summer.

Being a parent, I admit my guilt of allowing my kids to be lazy in front of the tv or computer.

At some point, we've been conditioned that we must always be busy. I find myself being busy most of the day getting things done around the house. Sure, the house is clean but what quality time did I spend with my kids? What quality time did the kids spend exploring and learning about their world? What golden nugget did they walk away with at the end of the day?

I am working very hard this summer to not allow myself to get bogged down with the unimportant busyness of the daily mundane tasks of life. Better yet, I'm learning to incorporate the mundane into the fun. My youngest wants to be outside a good share of the day. It's inborn in a kid to want to be outside when it's nice out. I'm learning to take my work outside. I'll save all my wash & take it out at one time, giving my son more time to play while I hang laundry on the line. Our reward is to play ball & swing the bat for awhile or for my son to ride his bike or scooter. Walking to the community park is always a treat. I'm also learning to be a morning person and get most household work done before his full energy kicks in for the day. It's a reward for me too. When the essential work is done, we have the day to play & be free.

We had one of these days today. I got the morning chores done while he was still sleeping and/or just waking up. Then we got ourselves ready to go play all day. We went to my friend's house, who lives in the country & has 5 acres of heaven outside her backdoor.

Naturally, the kids want to play with toys inside for a little while. Once they started getting testy with one another, it was easy to transition them to the great outdoors. What a beautiful summer day this was. It was sunny, breezy and in the 80's. Perfect.

It had stormed last night so there was a large puddle in their yard by the tree line. Probably 10 feet in diameter. As if it were a large magnet, they went straight to that puddle & splashed, stomped, jumped & slid on their bellies. Oh, what fun! They were covered from head to toe in mud and grass.

When they got bored with that, they chased the chickens around the yard. They got to spy on a bird nest with hungry babies peeking out of it. They even chased butterflies around the yard.

We didn't need to prompt or encourage the kids to play & explore their world today. It's a natural part of being a child.

My friend and I were also recipients of God's blessings today. While the kids were being kids, we got to sit & relax, catch up on what's going on in each other's lives and watch in awe as those kids played and played, never seeming to get bored. Had we allowed them to stay in the house, worse yet, stay in front of the tv, they would have missed out on all the beauty and fun that this summer day had to offer. They would have missed out on all of God's wonderous blessings. What a wholesome day!