I think we wore the boy out.
You didn't think it was possible, did you?
We proved that a bundle of energy could be put to rest, but probably won't stay at rest.
He was 100% completely asleep - sitting straight up on the stairs.
What could do such a thing?
How about church followed by art museum followed by piano recital followed by a night of sleep followed by ski lessons and a long day of skiing at a resort 3 hours away (up at 6am home at 10pm)? I think that would tucker out the best of us.
As we parent we are continually asking ourselves if we are providing enough for the kids or are we pushing them to do too much?
Do we have a good balance?
Are they exposed to a variety of sports, arts, and music?
Are they given the opportunity to excel or at least invest in one activity without it consuming all their childhood freedom?
And speaking of childhood - do they have time to PLAY? Yep - I mean real play, no adult forcing the direction of the fun, just unadulterated creative fun. Is there room to be a kid?
We don't want tuckered kids. Well - I guess at 10pm we want them tuckered, but we don't want zombie like kids who are too pooped to enjoy being a kid.
Of all the many things Dr. Phil says one stuck with me. He said that when his boys were in school he told them that they had just two jobs. 1) Get an education. And 2) Thoroughly enjoy being a kid.
Although we have some very busy seasons in our lives we have generally found a healthy way to strike a balance. To have time for play and time for learning. To have structured activities and lessons along with free time to just "be".
But it's a struggle.
We're tempted to keep up with the Jonses.
We're tempted to prove ourselves and our kids.
We're tempted to want mini-me only better.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to ski. For the gift of music lessons. For art museums that open their studios for free art classes. For the freedom to home school. I am so thankful for these beautiful little children who are my responsibility for such a short time. I pray that I am faithful in this task.
1 comment:
We're in the middle of reading "the Secret Garden" which is a great example of how kids find stuff to do with no stuff - an orphan in a big mansion, no toys, books, anything. A skipping rope. Go outdoors. All day. In the winter. By yourself. I love how it captured old-fashioned play and curiosity.
On a modern note, we just make sure Katherine has some "output" time (also known as "down time") which, for her, she needs only every three days or so. Just some blank time with no screens, no friends, nothing "input" so she can be alone and sing in her beautiful voice and play with a doll.
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