When my children started to wear on my last nerve, at around 8:15am this morning. (Hey, cut me some mom-slack, I am far from perfect). I told them they had to spend the day outside. Our weather isn’t too bad yet, it is around 47 degrees and the ‘big’ storm had not arrived. I knew that I had a small window of ‘outside’ opportunity before we are cooped up for days inside our home. Pulling them away from their TV show and my teenager from downloading music onto her ipod…you would have thought that I had asked the kids to go build a small city or to find a cure for some terminal illness. Their groans and moans pained even me. They were back in the house less than twenty minutes later telling me they were bored. When our children complain to us that they are bored, we reply by telling them, “You are bored because you are boring.”
Our children have a beautiful home, a basketball hoop, a jungle gym and fort, their own bonus room and a pool in the summer. They don’t get much compassion from their dad and I.
It got me to thinking about how little my children do spend outside. Compared to their generation, they are outside quite a bit. Compared to my generation, not much at all. Later in the day, I ended up driving my youngest three to the school playground where they could ride their bicycles and scooters, and climb the jungle gym. Their groans and moans gone, they laughed and chased each other on the blacktop. My daughter Grace came over to where I was sitting and reading. I could see her walking over to me and I tried to envision an invisible force field that would redirect her to where the other children were all playing. With her soccer ball in hand she asked, “Mom, do you want to play soccer with me?” I had to hide the hidden moan I felt rising in my own throat, “Sure honey.” I smiled, as I put down my book and tried to grab the ball out of her hands.
Fake it till you make it.
I told you…I am far from perfect.
**The picture above is of my children reading my blog post a few weeks ago for Meghan’s birthday. This is pretty much what my mornings look like when I want a moment to myself.**
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