T-Shirts we created. They decided their own “I am” quality.
Let’s take the illness part of this isolation deal out of the equation.
This is very similar to when we were raising our kids. Maybe worse, if you want to look at taking care of your kids as a hard, inconvenient thing.
We didn’t have 1065 channels for them to watch – 3 – 7 at best. And, you better dang be sure you were there when it came on. No DVR, no on demand etc.
There were no computers, computer games, interactive games. There was though, the whole outdoors. Something kids should be exploring these days.
With four boys there were some unique games – rock throwing (yes at each other), tree climbing which could escalate into broken branches especially on the way down. Snake hunting in the rock pile (which resulted in a broken nose), bike riding, gun shooting, critter trapping, bomb making (you see I’m covering all age groups here).
Also *get ready – CHORES. There were things at the barn and here at home. There is no reason why every kid can’t have a responsibility to call their own. Vacuum, dust, take out the trash, wash windows, clean out the car, wash the car, pull weeds, mow the lawn, mop the floor and my kids favorite – burn the papers. There was something about the whole fire thing there – HA!
We only ventured to the grocery store once a week or once every other week when the kids were small. The nearest “town” was so far away. Mind you, it’s the same town we travel to almost daily now but back then it was a different story.
The few TV programs that were available would be reenacted in our living room, which also is a great place to make forts.
The kitchen holds wonders galore. Bake cookies, cakes, elaborate desserts. Science project are birthed in the kitchen with household items. I’m still removing petrified gack.
Day care was home care. Working moms were working in the house taking care of the family. (No, I am not slamming out of the home working moms.) Play dates were occasional but they had continuous play dates amongst themselves.
Our steps to upstairs became a great sliding ramp – find a baby mattress, jump on and go. It only got tricky when it ended in a bloody nose from the door at the end of the steps.
Catching baby birds, finding a rabbit’s den, poking at beehives were all offenses yet they happened.
Your kids could become new creatures if you force them to find themselves. When left to their own imagination wonderful things happen – and in some cases like us, stiches and broken bones.
And, there is much you can impart on a walk, sitting side by side on a porch swing, laying in the grass pointing out cloud pictures.
It’s not your responsibility to continually have them occupied, learning something. Let them be them. Let them find the quiet time to explore the lack of stimulation.
When things get quiet, God can be heard, souls get filled and hearts are searched. There is nothing wasted in God’s creation. Even this down time, solitude will serve as a place for great things to happen.
So, let’s stop looking at this as “I can’t wait until we can go back to normal” and see it as an opportunity that may never have happened. And there are great things waiting within this opportunity.
Wash your hands, stay safe and don’t waste this time.
Blessings.
