As I think about the upcoming summer activities that we have planned I'm looking forward to spending so much time with family, and extended family, at outings and events. But I'm also looking forward to the times when we can just stay close to home, and spend time with just the four of us doing fun and simple things on a Saturday afternoon. One of my favorite days with Archer was the afternoon last fall that we went to the local nature center and just walked around through the woods, taking pictures and discovering all of the things along the path. It feels so easy to look elsewhere for fun with the kids, when all they really need is some nature and an adult to follow behind as they enjoy the environment. And its nice to have the chance to get out of the house and just let go of the list of things I haven't done yet, or chores that I can never seem to keep up with.
Today Dad took Archer out to the woods and the playground for the day and all they did was walk around, chase each other, look at sticks and leaves and dirt and they had a great time without any complicated planning or spending money or using anything that required batteries or electricity. Dad said they ran the bases at the baseball diamond continuously for half an hour without stopping. Last night the dog was standing in the living room and Archer started running in tight circles around Everett, around and around. Then the dog laid down and Archer just kept going, jumping over his tail and running, running, running. Some days I put Archer on my back and we just run back and forth, around in circles, jump up and down, run back and forth some more. Some of my favorite memories from my childhood are times that we spent outside in nature - hiking around the heifer pasture at Grandpa Shorty's farm, biking on the Elroy Sparta trail with Dad, biking around the Argyle countryside with Mom and Dad (and Dad telling us about the Big Tree), canoing on the Pecatonica, collecting blackberries by the creek near our house, Denise dropping her ice cream in that creek on the way home from Boy Blue, staying in a cabin on Green Bay and playing in the water all afternoon, hiking and tubing in Tennessee, I could go on and on... Kids are amazingly entertained by just moving, if only adults felt that way, we'd have so many less health problems and so much more enjoyment in life!
What are your favorite memories of being outside and doing something that didn't require batteries or tv or elaborite planning?
2 comments:
I've been walking the woods for over 50 years and I am always amazed at how much is still new to me, if you only take the time to look and listen. How much more true must that be for someone only three! I think Archer saw his first toad yesterday too. If I told you that you can play baseball with a 3 year old on a ball diamond for half an hour without a ball and have a great time, would anyone believe me, but we did. You can make a game out of nothing, anytime, anywhere. (My brother used to be the best at doing that when we were growing up.)
I try to tell Dan about this memory that I have from our childhood, and he just doesn't understand...guess it's one of those 'you had to be there' things. One Saturday afternoon Dad took us kids to Whitnall Park on a 'hunt' for something very specific. I think as kids, any adventure is extremely exciting and fun, no matter what you might be looking for. All Dad told us was that we were to look for little white creatures that were round, and could be covered by dirt. Immediatly our minds started being creative and wondering what these little white creature could be...some sort of animal, a type of vegetable...the possiblities were endless! Come to find out...we were on a hunt for golf balls so Dad wouldn't have to buy some at the store. It's amazing how we spent that whole afternoon in an 'adventure' just from a little creativity on Dad's part. I guess it turned a plain walk in the park to a treasure hunt...Thanks Dad!
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