Never too old for the Sandbox

Last night my daughter, Emmy, asked me to come outside and play with her.  My first thought was that I was overly tired, still had to clean up from dinner and had to pick up my son in a few hours.  I didn’t want to go outside.  I wanted a clean house.  But then I thought of the pledge I made myself last year.  We spent so much time with my mother before she passed away, that we really didn’t get to enjoy the leisure of summer.  There was no going to the pool, no chasing fireflies, no going for snow cones.  I vowed that this summer would be different.  So with that pledge, I went outside.  I found her in the sandbox.  I have no real creativity in the make believe department, so I was a little apprehensive about what would happen over the next couple of hours.  My daughter, who is eleven, has always loved playing in the sandbox.  I think it is therapy for her to manipulate the sand, make things, just dig around.  I am beginning to think I can learn a lot from her.  At first we tried to make sand castles.  The sand was not moist enough so our cups never really did set up well.  She did not see this as a problem.  The broken parts became walls around a moat, fallen mountain sides, or anything else she could think of.  What I saw as not working, she saw the beauty of the situation. 

 

Then we moved on to opening a restaurant.  We went in to the house and took all the old plastic containers, spoons, spatulas, more cups out to the sandbox.  Much laughing ensued when she started putting stuff in different containers.  “This one is eggs, it goes in the refrigerator”, “this one is sugar it goes on the shelf”.  By the time she had finished getting ready we had about twelve tubs full of sand.  Thankfully I was able to remember that the “eggs” were in the margarine container on the ledge and the “sugar” was in a glad container behind me.  She was a mean cook and made every meal perfectly.  Then as I “ate” it I would dump sand on her and she would laugh so hard she would get hiccups.  Charlie, our little dog, decided to get in to the action.  He hated the feel of sand on his feet so he hopped in to my lap and stayed.  Boomer, my German Shepherd mix, would poke his head in on occasion, but was more interested in chasing birds and lying under a tree.  After Charlie got settled, Emmy asked him what he would like.  We decided he would like dog chow with a side of bow wow.  He was a good sport and stayed until his “food” was ready.  That may have had something to do with the fact I was petting him, though. 

Too soon, the sun began to set and the mosquitos started coming out.  We had to go in.  Together we gathered up all our stuff, dumped out the sand and took it to the kitchen.  As I was putting stuff in the dishwasher she gave me a big hug and said in her best proper voice, “Thank you Mrs. Williams for coming to my restaurant and bringing your friend”. 

 

No, Em, thank you for reminding me of the precious gift of being able to spend Mom/girl time.  Not just another day in my sometimes exciting, sometimes dull, always interesting life.

Not New Year's Resolutions

Okay, it has been forever since I wrote a blog. I kept thinking that I would, but around the holidays life gets so crazy. And in our household it is always crazy.
So here I am at the beginning of the New Year and thinking about the craziness of life. I, as most people, have made resolutions for the New Year. I try not to think of them as resolutions, but as life style changes or goals. It makes me feel better. That way when I kind of go back to old habits, I really haven’t broken a resolution, just had a setback. I can continue throughout the year trying to change instead of feeling guilty about what I haven’t done.

What are these grand life style changes? They run the gambit. One is to eat healthier. Not to go on a diet or anything, just pick up a carrot instead of a potato chip. At the beginning, I thought that sounded stupid. Yes, I was telling myself my own reasoning was stupid. But after about a month, I can honestly say that eating the good stuff is not so bad anymore. Oh, I won’t kid you or myself that I am always eating wonderfully (though the homemade corn dogs and French fries tonight DO NOT count). But when I do choose meals I am getting better to choose more wisely. I consider that progress. I am also hoping to instill in my children that junk food is nice for a treat, but not as a way of life.


Another change I am making is trying to spend more time with my hopefully healthier kids and husband. The house is always a mess, laundry always needs to be done, but I can always do those things when my kids are no longer in the house. We are trying to have more game nights, which slowly my kids are realizing that maybe the television is not as interesting as mom and dad. Okay maybe that will take a while to convince them, but it’s a start. Plus I’m sure my daughter will one day be able to go to Vegas and be able to pay off my house. Okay, maybe not. I just hope she walks away with the knowledge that her parents spent time with her, and that she knew she was loved.

Another goal for this year was to run a half marathon. So far not, so good. A wrenched knee is keeping me sidelined at the moment. Well, at least it’s a good excuse. But I am bound and determined to do this. My husband however says I should be locked in a room padded in bubble wrap so I won’t hurt myself anymore. That one will be a wait and see. Maybe I should change it to cheering on other people who run a half marathon. I think I could do that.

My final goal for the year is to read the entire Bible in a year. One of my favorite stations is the Christian station K-Love. They charged everyone to try to do this. So I signed up and got my list of daily readings. Although it has been only a month, it has been going well. I think knowing that I only have to read a certain amount every day makes it easier. It’s the old adage of how do you eat an elephant – one bite at a time. Looking at the whole elephant would be too difficult of a challenge. And who would want to eat an elephant anyway? K-Love even sent a nifty blue plastic bracelet that I wear constantly to remind me of this challenge. So, I will report back from time to time on how that is all going.


Oh, one more I guess. My final final goal is to write my blog on a regular basis. Don’t know if anyone besides Sherri actually reads them, but at least once a week, is my pledge. Hopefully more, depending on life. But if my kids can pledge to continue to work on their homework, then I can pledge to continue to write my blogs. Hopefully something at least a little interesting.

So there you have it. Who knows what my blogs will be in the coming weeks and months. Football? I’m sure. Summer vacations? Weird things my dogs do? Funny things my daughter says? So we will see what happens in my sometimes exciting, sometimes dull but always interesting life.