At one set of grandparents' house, I always did crafts, exercised, sang, and played "pretend" outside. At another grandparents' house, I learned to shoot pool. And, at the other grandparents' house, I learned to cook, rode my bike around the neighborhood, and explored the trails in the woods next to the neighborhood. Each of these adventures taught me life lessons even if it was as simple as learning to be responsible off on my own. As I look back now, I realize some of my friends were not as blessed to be able to have their grandparents as active in their lives to help create these wonderful childhood memories.
Yesterday, as a mom of a (soon to be) eight year old and a six year old, I realized something else! My grandma (my children's GREAT-grandma) has been keeping my kids while I finish at work for this school year. As I picked my children up yesterday, I couldn't help but notice how sweaty and dirty they were (we're talking dirt behind the ears and in between the toes dirty). Obviously, they had played extremely hard out in the hot June sun.
In the car on the way home, I began to smile and almost tear up as I listened to my children tell me about their adventures at Maw's house that day. They described riding their bikes "many miles" around the neighborhood. They detailed every mud hole they created and dirt pile they built. However, my favorite story they illustrated was that of going thru the trails in the woods with their neighborhood friends - the same trails and woods I grew up playing in. (As a matter of fact, today they told me about seeing "Big Foot" in the woods! Too funny!)
I'll be honest... these days it scares me to think of how easy it would be for someone to take off with my children as they're out playing in the neighborhood. On the other hand, I cherish the fact that my kids are getting to be real kids making memories the same way I did as a child. Instead of worrying about my kids exploring new adventures in the neighborhood and woods, I decided to relish the memories.
I listened to my kids characterizing every little detail of their adventures for the day, and it brought back all the memories of the same adventures I had experienced there as a child. It made me realize several things:
1) I need to let my kids be kids more often,
2) How lucky I was to grow up making those memories at my grandparents' house(s),
3) How lucky my kids are to have their GREAT-grandparents still alive and involved in their lives, and
4) More than anything, how fortunate my kids are to be making these wonderful memories in the same "old-fashioned" way I did.
Overall, I feel truly blessed to know that my kids are not just sitting in front of a TV, computer screen, or a digital game all day. Not that there's anything wrong with technology, but I feel that too many kids aren't getting to experience a real childhood due to these things. Luckily, my kids are being REAL (old-school) kids making childhood memories outside, and I hope one day they'll relish the memories as much as I do!
To end this post, I thought I'd leave you a couple of pictures of the kids being REAL kids this past Easter. Nothing shows a fun childhood like a tire swing and trying to climb a tree! Enjoy!
