Footloose and Fancy Free...

A couple days ago the 4 biggest kids took off outside to play with their friends. After they were gone I let Jesse out into the backyard to play while I made dinner. I watched out the windows as he wandered from play set to play set from the neighbors on one side of us to the neighbors on the other side. All by himself he climbed and slid down the slides and laid on his belly on the swings. Sometimes he would stop and dig in the sandbox for a while or throw a ball and chase it. I was impressed by his ability and willingness to play by himself for so long, mixing it up and finding new things to do. I looked out and he suddenly flung himself to the ground. I thought maybe he tripped but then he started to roll. He was log rolling down the little hill! It was so stinkin' cute. He got to the bottom, stood up, marched back up the hill and did it all over again. Remember being so carefree? Not a thing in the world to do at that moment but roll down a hill? Or ride your bike over a jump? Or see how many times you could jump a rope? Obviously as an adult it's just not possible to live every moment like that, but I think it's important to still have SOME moments like that. Forget-your-worries moments. Moments when you need to catch the excitement and exuberance of your children and live it to its fullest. It's way too easy to be too tired or too grumpy or too mature or too old to let go and roll til you think you're gonna puke. Try it. Try to find moments to be footloose and fancy free again. It's exhilarating.