Dad:
This weekend the family took a trip to a local corn maze, which featured a nice dirt pile, corn cannon, a goat pen, hay ride, kid train ride, and the corn maze. J was really excited to see the train, and wanted to immediately jump on and ride, but we wanted her to wait for her friend that was coming also. I got a kick out of watching her interact within her surroundings. It made me excited to see her so excited about the different things that they had there. The place was not flashy at all, and frankly was quite unexciting, but J ran station to station ready to try out what they had to offer. It seems great to be able to see moments without critical eyes. I am learning from J to enjoy the moments that you are given, and make the most out of what is there. Her fun was my fun, and it enabled me to put on the rose-colored glasses, and just enjoy the moment with the family. Too many times we want things to be perfect for our kids, and if things aren’t a certain way then we seem disappointed. Kids don’t care about any of that stuff. The see things that appeal to them and just go for it. They quickly learn to be critical, and I think it starts with the parents. As for me I will attempt to be the example and enjoy the moments, because they are too precious to waste being critical.
Mom:
J’s favorite thing to do as Halloween grows near is visit Pumpkin Patches. We have been to larger ones and smaller ones. Each and every one of them has brought a huge joy of excitement to her. As my husband said, she makes the most out of what they have to offer. And we are learning as parents to not take that excitement away from her. It might cost $7 to get in, but the excitement our kids have for the pumpkin patch is priceless. It might not have the petting zoo we imagined (or in my case, that it had one at all), but J loves to watch, touch, and feed the animals. As a mom who sees animals as big germs that kick and bite, I just smile and let her explore them. The corn maze might be long and hot and lacking any type of air flow but we entered that maze following the lead of the 3 four-year-olds with us!! The girls were excited to take charge and follow the map! As a mom, I couldn’t miss enjoying this quest with her. It brought a smile to my face each time the girls decided amongst themselves which path to take. It was a great adventure for our daughter and one day G will grow up and be right there on her heels following her through the pumpkin patch and beaming with his own excitement. I never want this excitement to leave my children and each year I enjoy taking them to the local pumpkin patches and other events throughout the year.
But… when is it that we start to see the dirt, the heat, the germs, and the below average features in the world around us? How do we keep our kids from turning into so many of us walking this Earth? Can it be done and are we up to the challenge?
