It is early April and in Arizona that means that it is time to get your outside play in because in a few months you’re going to want to spend more time in the air conditioning. As a child, I loved playing outside, especially in the spring. Plants were starting to come alive again, I could break out my shorts from fall and just play. This past weekend my two kiddos spent the majority of their days outside in the back yard playing…without me having to sit outside with them.
I’m not a helicopter mom by nature but my eldest has a seizure disorder and my youngest had some developmental delays that have mostly resolved. However, she’s super dare devil and really has no concept of cause and effect. Add the fact that I have open view fencing in my back yard that opens up to a desert wash – a desert wash that is home to rattlesnakes, coyotes, bobcats, and killer quail and bunnies and it is easy to realize that the backyard isn’t that safe sanctuary that you expect it to be. Okay, so the quail and bunnies aren’t killer but the rattlesnakes, coyotes, and bobcats can be feisty.
Typically if the kids want to play outside I have to either play with them or go sit outside and supervise. Of course they want to play far longer than I want to sit out there, especially this year when I’m trying to finish up my bachelor’s program, so when mommy wants to go inside they are usually upset. When I was a kid I loved going out and coming in at sunset.
Well this past weekend my kids got to experience that. They weren’t able to wander the neighborhood like I did (I live in a major metropolitan area) but we do have a large backyard with lots of fun things to do. They went outside and I cracked a window so I could listen to them. When it got unusually quiet for an extended period of time I went to peek and make sure they weren’t in to too much trouble. They weren’t. Sure we had some scrapes and bruises but no seizures – no broken arms – no trips to the ER.
The kids are already looking ahead to this weekend when they get to play outside until the sun drops below the houses on the horizon. I, too, look forward to the fact that my two will get to enjoy one of the best parts of being a kid – playing outside until the sun goes down.
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Boy can I relate! I’ve got three kids – 14, 9, and 6 – and I’m always looking out the window or hollering their names waiting for the usual roll call response. When I was a kid though, I never went back inside until the mosquitoes came out. Thanks for the great post. Peace.