Taking Time to Play

Laura and Mary Ingalls have been visiting lately.  They like to show up on sunny afternoons in their bonnets.  You would think that my name would be Ma.  Nope,  I get to be the mean storekeeper, Mrs. Olsen.  I can still hear her wail, "Nells!" to her on-screen husband.  My little man gets to be Pa. "Cause he hunts and shoots stuff."

I long for sun-drenched afternoons when my children drink in the day and get lost in their world of play.  Just listening to their imaginations run free reminds me that childhood is such a gift.

I am saddened by the schedules my children's friends are trying to maintain.  When did we, as a society, decide children needed to be involved in so many activities?  
As a mom, I sometimes get pulled into the "my child is involved in such and such" game.  But then I have to remember that those conversations are usually wrapped up in motherly pride.  Then I have to laugh.  Pride in what?  How many hours I logged in the driver's seat shuffling children from one activity to the next?  
When I see mini vans (the vehicle of choice for taxi moms) with multiple stickers touting the various activities of their young riders, I just roll my eyes.  Is it a badge of honor?  Is it necessary to state to the world that your family is over-committed?  

How about a sticker that says, 

"today they just played"

or "who needs to pay for fun... the back yard is free."
There is no pressure in my back yard.  It is a soccer field, a pirate ship, a jungle, a classroom, a home.

My children are free to laugh, love, learn, pretend, run, imagine and grow.

If you happen to stop by my house on a sunny afternoon, you just might find yourself in Little House on the Prairie world.  Don't be alarmed.  I'll make sure Mrs. Olsen is nice.

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