As a parent, I spent a lot of mental energy trying to come up with new and interesting ways of entertaining my children. It is especially true when I'm tired, as I really need the five seconds of time that outside entertainment affords me. Today I was reminded of something important. I really wanted to put off turning the tv on as long as I could, because the kids have been watching a lot of tv lately. This morning, without argument or hardly a thought, we all turned into the playroom area instead of the living room, where the tv is. For 3 1/2 hours we ate, played, and splashed in the tub just because. My daughter created a house out of cardboard, and had us all making puppets out of paper bags. I simply encouraged, and followed her lead. What a concept! She is incredibly creative, and truly enjoys coming up with projects for us. So while I'm buried in
Family Fun magazine and online searching for the fruits of someone else's mental energy (probably a kid's,) I actually have the greatest source of ideas right here. How cool is that? It is my job as a parent to encourage my children's creativity, and I wonder if I don't do just the opposite by getting caught up in my own agenda and responsibility. What she sees as a great project in the works, I often see as a big clean-up job for me. Or as as a complaint from hubby later in the day. But as I mentioned in a previous post, the neater the project environment is to begin with (which
is my job ultimately) the less overwhelming and stress-producing DD's project is. So maybe I should try to redirect my thinking from aggravation to gratitude that my kids are so capable of finding entertainment, and looking for ways to encourage it without it causing me stress. Hm. I'm always saying, "When the h** did I become the parent? I want to be the kid again!!" So it's time to stop feeling like the wet blanket on it all, and create an environment thats fun for them, and me.
