Anticipation

One of the hardest things to manage is anticipation — waiting and waiting for that one special (hopefully) magic moment — counting down the weeks, days, and minutes until a big event.

I remember my first childhood bouts with anticipation. Christmas and birthdays, followed by Halloween, then Easter, then Fourth of July.  I loved it when our family came together for laughter and food, silliness and embraces, for celebration and days away from school. More than anything, I loved the fun I had with family or friends making memories that still bring a smile to my face

Now, my happy, excited feelings of anticipation tend to revolve more around other things like the changing seasons, or opportunities to spend time with my grandkids.

 I’ve been asked to watch the two littlest grandkids – Hallie (almost 3) and Owen (1 ½), this coming Sunday.  It’s almost impossible to get through the week because I’m so looking forward to seeing them. But I must admit, I’m also a little daunted.  These two are a dynamic duo in every way that toddlers can be.  One can rapidly run to the right, while the other dashes to the left, climbing to frightening heights.  A granny can only move so fast and in one direction at a time. So, to prepare for this scenario, I’ve been brainstorming on how best to entertain the littles, keep them safe, and preserve my sanity.  So far, all I’ve come up with is playing indoor hide-and-seek, coloring, reading books, playing puzzles, and building a fort in the living room with a sheet and cushions from the sofa.  Given the kid’s attention span, I’m guessing these activities will last about an hour, but I will have five hours with them!  So, what next? Television and cartoons? Most likely, there will be some of that too, but I don’t want to waste most of my visit plunking them in front of the television.

I’ve lived a sheltered life, only ever having one child to raise. How on earth, I wonder, do parents of multiple children do it? When I asked my daughter how she and her husband manage, she said, “Honestly, Mom, we just let them do what they want and try not to let them get hurt.”  In other words, don’t try to structure and control every moment of their time. Probably these are wise words, and probably I was a smothering parent who felt I needed to occupy every moment of my daughter’s childhood.  I guess now it’s time for this old dog to learn some new tricks and explore a different child-rearing philosophy. Can I handle it?  I don’t know. But I’m going to try. Having said that, though, I’m still going to tote along a Granny’s Bag of Tricks… just in case letting them do what they want doesn’t seem to be working.

I’m thinking of making a sensory play box we could explore on the deck.  It would require a big container of Wet Wipes, 2 plastic tubs, one with dirt, and one with soapy water, along with some little plastic cars and animals.  Since it’s still kind of warm out here in the Midwest, I’ll let the kids strip down to shorts, since they are sure to get all muddy. I’ll give them some scoops and cups and let them have at it, making mud and running toys through the muck, then washing them off in the soapy water. They will have permission to be as dirty as they want to be, and afterwards, we’ll clean up and eat bananas, and read books. What do you think? Will it work?  I’ll be sure to take pictures and post them later, to let you know.

For this month’s Recommended Read, check out my review of the No, David! books, by David Shannon, about a little boy who consistently gets into mischief.

And under my Activities section, you can learn more about how to build an outdoor sensory play box for your little wild ones.