Admission: I’ve forgotten how to play. I’m not sure when it happened, but the seriousness of life has overtaken me. The burden of adult living has weighed heavy lately. Maybe for you too. This is the week my kids begin summer. This is our first classic summer break since our year-round school option has dissolved. This year, Josh and Luke will experience a traditional American (forever-long) summer. Because, for me, “play” has been more a theatrical story you go to watch rather than a fun, frolicking time, I am sensing my own need to surrender to levity, fluid time and…
Tag: Children
Life as Participation
My second grader came home from school reflecting on his love for abstract art not long ago. He simply stated, “Mom, if I paint a baseball bat, it’s a baseball bat to everyone, but when you look at abstract art, everyone might see something different!” Luke had a childlike way to explain something that many people struggle to see in a lifetime: the invitation to participate with art. Art, writing, poetry, dance, drama and music are an invitation to the soul. They invite contemplation, admiration, imagination and depth of feeling to be unearthed. When I am the creator, I express…
Welcoming the Unexpected
I have fond memories of when the doorbell would ring unexpectedly in my childhood home. A moment of delight overtook me. Who could it be? Was it a neighborhood friend, a drop-in visit from a friend of mom’s or maybe the UPS man delivering a package? There was something about the unknown ding-dong that excited me. Nowadays, pop-in visits are not as common, but, the “unexpected” remains an absolute. Truly, each day brings about something “unexpected”. First, there are the “joyful unexpected” encounters: the doorbell rings and a friend is on the other side of the door with a plate…
Peeling Labels
I asked Josh a few weeks back if he thought the teacher would ask him to write about his favorite part of summer when he returned to school. He responded, “I hope not. I don’t like to write about the summer. I wish teachers would ask about us. I wish they’d ask about what we like so they could get to know us.” This stayed with me as I thought about how Josh simply has the desire to be known. I believe we all have this desire at some level. The need to be known and cared for. The need…
The Burden of Good & Bad
Living with two young boys, I’m bombarded daily with stories of good and bad. They love to tell me how they’ve been shortchanged by one another or by friends or at the soccer field or at school. And, surprisingly, they are always the hero of the tale. The one who has done no wrong. The star in the night sky. Oh, how I relate! I, too, want to be the heroine of my life. The one who saves the day. The one who rescues with all her innate goodness. I mean, isn’t this the story of any classic tale? True,…