Exploration

Being a mom is such a neat experience because it allows me to re-live everything through Jack's eyes.  I could become jaded, thinking a yard is "just" a yard or a climbing vine is an eyesore, but with Jack, a vine is of infinite wonder and a yard is the land of Narnia.  I think this is one of the many ways God blesses us through children; just as we are reaching an age of cynicism, God brings a child into our lives.  And once our children are grown and we are threatened with the feeling of cynicism again, God gives us grandchildren. 

Today, although it is February, Jack and I enjoyed some playtime in the backyard.  The weather was a perfect mid-70's, and the cloud cover was just enough to keep the sun from completely blinding us.  Jack was into everything!  Each wildflower had to be delicately touched, each blade of grass grasped and each leaf tasted.  I could literally feel him soaking everything in--from the breeze on his face to his shrieks of delight as the neighbors cat stalked a bird across our yard.

I can't wait to see what new and exciting things our backyard holds for us as Jack grows.  Sometimes, while he is napping, I'll walk around the yard, trying to imagine what it will look like through his eyes.  It takes me back to my own childhood backyard, where I made mudpies, dammed rainwater streams, caught lizards and fireflies, built forts and discovered a robin's nest full of eggs.  When we discover our surroundings, we learn a little more about ourselves, and this is something that I am afraid Jack's generation is missing out on in a big big way.  Too many parents are too afraid to let their kids be kids, and many of them have good reason to be cautious, but I cannot imagine what my childhood would have been like without my own backyard, the nearby woods and lake, or my grandparents farm.  I never had a fear of nature, only a healthy respect for what it could do to me if I took it for granted.  I can now look forward to being a kid all over again, and in doing so, enjoying the yard as a child would enjoy it.  As a mom, the only thing I want to fear is what my son may have stashed in his pockets during hours of outdoor play.