Go With The Flow Days
Last night we walked Poppy and the boys along Minot beach. It was truly a beautiful night. The tide was out and there was loads of sand to walk in and discover crabs and rocks (Conor’s favorite). Some people were having a late dinner on the beach and others were walking their dogs. There were big dogs, some little and some puppies. All of which Poppy was so happy to see. The sun was setting and the sky was filled with amazing billowing clouds and the colors of pale orange, light pink and deep mauves. I was struck by this, the days are getting shorter. Soon, it will be Fall and time to rake leaves. What happened to summer? It has gone so quickly, a few short weeks and John will be off to school – full day kindergarten. I’m excited for him to go and so is he, but I know on his first day my eyes will well up with tears of joy, but also sadness. He will no longer be my baby, but a big boy on his way. Off to conquer the world with places to go and people to meet. I know it is only kindergarten, but he will be gone all day. It is bittersweet.
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| Conor relaxing in the tent |
Now that camp is over, we are going to be like the tide and ‘ebb and flow’. Today we are having a “Go with the Flow Day”. I haven’t looked at the clock once. We spent the morning doing crafts and have set up a huge tent in the backyard filled with comfy pillows and towels. We hung two big sheets from the clothes line and weighed the bottoms down with beach rocks Conor has obsessively collected. The boys were giggling inside the tent sheltered from the hot sun. John is now running around the yard with his squirt gun while Conor has the lawn mower in the paddling pool. I’m currently typing this in their tent. It actually is really cool in here (literally and figuratively).
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| John laying in the tent. |
In life, we are always so rushed. Pressure put on us by time, work, school, ourselves. It is nice for kids to be kids and have no worries or pressure. When I was growing up I loved the simple things. Swinging as high as I could on my swing set, riding my bike as fast as the wind, swimming like a mermaid in the pool and, the highlight, was driving to Barron’s Country Store in West Andover for a slush puppy and bottle cap candy. Summer days streched on and on. I’d leave the house and play with the neighborhood kids until my mom rang the bell signally that it was time for dinner.
My kids also love these simple pleasures and I hope they will have fond memories of spending endless time in the backyard enjoying fresh cut watermelon, pretending to be paleatologists while digging for dinosaurs in their dirt pile and trying to catch the rainbow colored bubbles floating up to heaven. They love to explore the wonders of our own backyard; strange bugs climbing on their swing set, butterflies visiting our flowers and, of course, running after Poppy. They are happy to run through the sprinkler with carefree abandon, shrieking with joy. My little artists love to draw or finger paint at their picnic table, all while enjoying the the fresh sea air.
What is better than a picnic of fluff-a-nutter sandwiches (peanut butter and fluff) while searching for shapes in the clouds above? Go on, take me advice, let your kids be lazy, let them daydream, let them have time to be bored. When you do their creativity will shine through and you will be filled with joy. Hope you have a “Go with the Flow Day”, too. Take time to savor these moments of summer before they are gone for good.
Looking for some fun things to do in your own backyard? Check out Jennie Maizel’s Things to Do Book. It is fantastic and one of our favorites.
