I find threads like this one incredibly reassuring that things are all right in the world
HWMBLT used to drop me and the boys off at Strathclyde Park on his way to work, and pick us up at home time (he was a teacher), weather permitting, a couple of days a week.
When asked what we did about lunch he replied, "Half a mile in Strathclyde Park and Mary and the boys have *had* lunch."
His colleagues looked at him as though he were mad
It's a big world out there, and very little in our land will actually harm you. If you don't feel that confident then buy a good book and learn with your children, even if it's just one new thing every time you're out, it'll fair add up
Mine got like fledglings for a bit, if my hand appeared at their faces they opened their mouths.....ever seen a toddler picking his own and ending up with a sour bramble? Absolutely hilarious as that angelic little face kind of implodes, and it's a good lesson, it might be good for you but it might not taste the way you want, and yes, sweetheart you can spit it out 'cos not all brambles are the same. But the next one was gloriously sweet.
I wanted them to think, and be aware about what they were eating and not limited in their choices; to realise that the changing seasons changed what was available, to develop an understanding of where things grew, and why. Why the birds and animals we saw weren't always there and why they behaved the way they did. We made things too, everything from leaf baskets to carry fruits home, to arrangements for Hallowe'en, ornaments for the christmas tree, the spring branches, and cords to tie the grain stalks, and the bunches of herbs and roots I gathered all year around.
I'm not fond of fake scents, but I love those fresh outdoors smells of wind and sun and greenery.
Children grow up so quickly. From the other end of parenthood, can I advise making an effort to slow down a little and simply enjoy their youth and your own? I know life can be very pressure filled, but the simple pleasure of breathing deep and peaceful counts for an awful lot, it kind of re-balances everything.
I loved it, and I miss the children mine were then, but I love the adults they've become
Okay great soppiness overwith
they're *your* kids, it's *our* world, teach them to live in it and enjoy doing it. It does us all good
atvb,
Toddy
