June 21, 2012

The past four days have been filled with non stop excitement.  On Monday, after pleading with big brother and uncles to take the kids to play laser tag,  I ended up there.  Alone.  To fend for myself.  Sitting out was not an option.  The kids wanted me on a team, so there I went, into the dark with backpack on--listening earnestly for the rules of warfare.  Believe it or not. . .but I had NEVER played before!!  This kid was ready for battle. . .more so than I can say for myself.  However, I had SO. MUCH. FUN!  Seriously, talk about a work out!  I even tripped over a partial wall that couldn't be seen in the dark and have bruising on both my legs.  Bad bruising, but it was so worth it.

I laughed. We ran. We attacked.  We took breaks and then started again. 7 games of pure fun!  Might I add, I was the high scorer for our team in the final game?!

Tuesday the fun continued with a trip to a local water park with my BFF and her two daughters.  We bought passes so we can visit often. . .even though I stayed with the littles and didn't do any of the fast slides (thank God for my BFF), the morning was SO enjoyable and the lunch after at an old classic was delicious!

Wednesday we headed out early to the dollar movies where we watched Happy Feet 2.  It was super cute and again I was reminded how simple and fun something can be if I really focus my attention on enjoying the moment and being truly present.  After that we had a picnic in the park with some old friends.

We visited the nature Center where the kids were able to get a lesson on red tail hawks--up close and personal, really.  We saw some owls, deer, and snakes.  It doesn't matter how many times we visit, they never grow tired.  It amazes me that they always see things with fresh, new eyes and I realize...I too must try to live this way.

Later, we met up with the grandparents and cousins and headed out to dinner.  A nice ending to another full day.  But here's the thing:  although the days have been full, they haven't been hectic.  I really am letting the kids lead and not committing to more than one activity a day.  Take today for instance, we will do our "schoolwork" and pick up since they did such an amazing job cleaning on Monday. . .then we will head to the library across the street and then maybe the Farmer's Market tonight--they have plenty of times where we are "on" and plenty of time to simply "be. "

Maybe that is the lesson I have learned over the past year in being more selective with how we choose to involve ourselves in outside activities.  As important as I believe nurturing their interests or passion is, I don't believe in carting them around from class to class/activity to activity. My time with them is precious.  I want to be their first role model and when I'm dividing our time with too much "stuff" in the outside world--it isn't beneficial to any of us.  Lesson learned.  And I truly am a happier mama for it.  This summer feels different, because it is different.  Living a simpler life based on more relationship building than class competing has changed us all. For. The. Better.