Our backyard is not very fancy, but the kids sure love it.
I do love the fact that there is only one very tall gate. And it's easily shut by adults, but very hard to open by children. I also love our brick wall that surround 2 sides and the quaint red fence that borders the other side. This allows the children to play semi-supervised --I can be in the kitchen/living room doing other things, and still hear them, but I don't have to watch them every second.
The kids love to be out there everyday. We have a lot of grass, a waterfall feature that goes into a small fish pond (with two long-living goldfish, some lily pads and a great water-plant), and one tree. There are several weeds along the walls --and tons of ivy. There's a rose bush, and some strange tree-thing that grows very quickly. Our covered porch is nice for winter and summer --especially when they want to ride the trikes and scooters around.
Today I saw the four of them (there was a friend over) making mud pies in the dirt near the tree. I was so close to calling out to have them stop --ahh! Their clothes! And then something stopped me. I don't know if it was nostalgia or perhaps even the Spirit --but I realized that I just need to let my kids be kids. They need to be children while they have the chance.
How many times have I stopped them from enjoying their youth because I was afraid that I would have to clean them up? Or that I would have to play with them? Or that I would have to be inconvenienced? And how many times, as a child, was I allowed to just play? I had a marvelous childhood--full of adventure and fun. I remember the chores and the tough times, too, but somehow, those good memories seem more prominent than the bad ones. So it would seem that my childhood was full of innocence and "childhood". That's a good thing. Why should I deny that for my kids?
So, I let them make their mud pies and I let them have fun. Later on when they came inside, they really weren't that dirty. And they were smiling. ~sigh~ Oh, to be a child again... :)
2 comments:
its funny because they look bored in the picture. i think they are squinting their eyes from the sun or something.
Ha! I never even thought of that. I took that picture when they weren't looking...and yes, I think it is the sun. :)
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