The full-scale packing all around us this week has really turned our home into a chaotic no-man's land. There's no place for anyone to sit without having to weave their bodies around boxes or stare at boxes or think about boxes (full or waiting to be filled). There's no pillows left on any of the couches because they've been claimed as cushioning for breakables. We're down to the basics in the kitchen and are about to be the same with all the bathrooms... and the kiddos are left to hover through these emptying spaces, to the tune of a parent telling them, "Don't TOUCH that! Stop pulling on that! Get off that!"
Ugh.
There's no longer a space for either of them to call their own, as boxes from neighboring rooms have invaded their playroom, and even their own rooms have been semi-packed.
It's a blessing that the weather has cooled down out of the 100's, but the backyard can only offer so much retreat from what's going on all around.
Yesterday, they needed a break. They needed a change, yet something familiar at the same time. They needed some positive, calm attention.
Out of nowhere, Audrey asked me, "Mama, can we go to the park today? It's not hot and there's nothing to pack there."
How could I say no?
It turns out, I needed a trip to the park, too. We were only there for about an hour, but our visit there seemed to calm everyone down and perk everyone up at the same time. When we got back home and I started to make dinner, the kiddos played together with empty boxes, making a fort of some kind and sharing, and after dinner they invented some game that involved hugging and kissing each other and laughing.
Music to my ears.
Aaah, the wisdom of my little ones, who are really an open book when it comes to what they need, if only I pay attention enough to notice... and strangely enough, what they need always seems to do me some good, too.
Yesterday was just what we all needed.
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