On Being a Playful Parent.

“Children don't say, 'I had a hard day...Can we talk?' 

They say, 'Will you play with me?'"

—Lawrence Cohen

Yesterday I did something that I've never done before. I rode a scooter. And it wasn't a piece of cake. It took me a while to balance and ride it smoothly. Give me a bike, and roller skates, and I can ride all day, but this scooter was a bit of a challenge for me. My kids kept making fun of me because of the way I was riding on it. They said it looked like I was dancing on it! They said the same thing when I play tennis. For some reason my left leg goes up with a pointed toe as I swing my racket, and I guess it's the same thing when I ride a scooter. It was pretty hilarious. And as you can see in this this little video, Noah mocked me perfectly too!

And thats okay. 

It's okay because I love playing with my kids. This 46.5 year old mom loves her outdoor time, and playing with kiddos. 

They can tease me all they want, and the main thing I get out of it is pure joy, and a lot of laughter, and you should have heard me laughing yesterday! I really want to get the rest of the family scooters so I can teach them how to gracefully ride it while swinging their left foot in the air! 

Sundays are great, and these are the days that I treasure. 

I love Lawrence Cohen's words when he also said, 

"We don't reserve much room in our lives for funny nd games anymore. Our days are filled with stress, obligations, and hard work, and without realizing it, we are more disconnected from our kids than ever. Play is the work of the child and to connect with our kids, we must play with our kids. Taking the time to put down our phones and realize that our kids need us to play. It sound silly, but all the mindless funny cat videos, and random tasty recipes will still be there years later, our kids won't!"

I don't want to be "that mom" that's always on her phone, or sits on a bench who doesn't interact with her kids. I want to be that mom who never grows weary in finding joy while being around my kids, and to seriously give them my attention when they want to go outside, and ride scooters. Play a board game, basketball, bocce, croquet, or any outdoor activity. 

Eventually the time will come for me to be a grandma and want to be active with my future posterity with them without having to drink too much Ensure! 

I absolutely loved yesterday, and could relive that day over and over again. 

Here's to more outdoor time now, and in the summer months to come!