Harvest

It seems like playing outdoors is a thing of the past. At least I find several of my fellow parenting friends discussing the topic. And sometimes I just hear them saying to their children, "when I was a kid......" (you fill in the blank) Of course I can remember my parents saying things like that as well. Which was crazy because, my sister & I played outside A LOT. Or wait maybe they said, "I walked to school, up hill both ways, with holes in the soles of my shoes, in the dead of winter"? HA! I'm sure we've all heard that one! What ever the case, today's kids really do seem less than happy to go outside.

A few days ago, my oldest asked me to tell her all about the things I did as a kid. I was pretty excited to share with her all of my days of summer fun. I told her about playing "cops & robbers", baseball in the neighbor's backyard, bike riding the whole neighborhood, "McDonald's, & "bank" but what she really got interested in was "harvest". "What is 'harvest'?", she asked. I spent the rest of our conversation explaining how we'd pull our little red wagon around the yard, stopping at our "garden" to pick our "vegetables" (different kinds of grass, clover, or flowers). Then we'd take everything we collected "from the garden" & put it in a bucket, maybe add some water, & make "stew". She thought that was pretty neat!

Today was a hectic day for me. I was rushing to get a few loads of laundry done, straighten the house, wash dishes & pack up a few things for the upcoming trip. Whenever I find myself in this situation, I make the girls watch a ton of TV. Even on the nice days, like today. It just keeps them occupied & out of my hair. So, it's no wonder my kids don't get outside as much as they should. It's so easy to fall into the "I'm too busy to......" trap.

At our old house I would have let them roam our backyard, unattended. Well, I always sent the dog out w/them. She is a fine babysitter! No one would have dared enter the yard with her out there. Our pooch is super protective of the girls. But here, the yard isn't fenced & the traffic is worse.

Once I finally got a down second, I ushered two of them (the oldest & youngest. our middle was napping) out the door & plopped myself on the deck stairs. I was tired & fighting a migraine. I sat for a long time, with one hand covering my right eye, watching the girls play before it dawned on me what my oldest was doing. She had been collecting "vegetables" for her "stew". When I seen this, I couldn't help but smile. It lit me up inside to know she was listening to my stories. I got up, without announcing that I was coming out to play, found a container & started picking some "veggies" myself. Then I went & sat down with her. We found some sticks for spoons & let the baby help with the stirring. And when Daddy got home, he got to be our taste tester. I know it was yummy, because it was made with love. The best part was, I got to be a kid again!!!