“My children are small. Larger magic, bigger adventures, louder moments compel them. They want to get up and shake and move, their energy bursts at the seams. They handle my need for quiet time well but their growing limbs and minds exploding in synapses need more. I know they need more. I know how running through the house with voices loud in song is just as enriching as blending primary colors into a masterpiece, maybe more so. But at 4pm on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, when a long day isn’t even close to over, I struggle to match their energy. So when they run off to play on their own, most of the time I let them, breathing a sigh of relief that they, at least, have each other.”
I was so honored to join the amazing group of writers participating in Rachel Cedar’s 28 Days of Play over at You Plus 2 Parenting. This is the second year that Rachel has taken us on this journey of play – what it means, how it happens (or doesn’t), why we perpetuate this love-hate relationship with it, how anyone finds the time for it. I think about play, and my role in it, every single day. I’m not great at play, or, at least, not the kind of play my kids seem to favor, and on the topic of future regret haunting my present, that happens most often in the realm of play for me. I worry about missing tea parties and playing family when my family has moved on.
So I’d love if you’d join me over at Rachel’s blog today as I move towards a happy middle with play.