Those of you who know me and those of you who have read my blog know that we moved a few weeks ago. We moved from a brand new townhouse with lots of bells and whistles to an apartment nearby. The apartment is 15 – 20 years old with no bells and fewer whistles. Somehow, we are much happier.
Here we are surrounded by mature trees and landscaping. Our apartment has a small screened in porch that overlooks a lake full of turtles, fish and ducks. Two thirds of the girls toys are in storage and they don’t even seem to notice. The squirrels eat their acorns right outside our porch window and the tree frogs sing at night. The cows from the neighboring farm even moo at us while we’re waiting for the bus! We moved away from a bevy of little girls in our old neighborhood. The only children we’ve met here the boys that ride the same school bus as Abigail yet, the girls are happier.
My parents came to visit for the day yesterday. We spent most of the day outside by the lake. We watched the turtles and squirrels, fed the ducks and collected nuts and pine cones. Robert fished a little and didn’t catch anything. Abigail dug a hole and Hattie filled it with acorns from a sawtooth oak. We sat in the sun and then in the shade and just spent time enjoying being outside. It was wonderful.
I was worried when we left the old neighborhood and moved to this apartment that the girls would have a hard time. Boy was I wrong! Abigail and Hattie have both expressed their love for our new place and how much they love the surroundings. Who knew?
It seems that so many people spend their entire lives rushing from one place to another. How exhausting! My point is that it is important to be able to just enjoy life. Children don’t have to have a planned activity every day. They have such brilliant imaginations and they deserve the chance to use them. We adults should learn from our children and take a moment to really enjoy the simple things….
