As adults we have our pastimes and our hobbies. We bowl in leagues and go to the gym to work out.
We do things that we don’t consider work, but we rarely really play. When we do we often base our play on expensive toys – 4 wheelers, boats, water skis, snow skis. Children can play with anything. They don’t need fancy toys to entertain themselves, although advertising would have you believe they do.
Picture a child of about 3 or 4 at Christmas or a birthday. He gets help unwrapping the perfect educational toy, guaranteed to entertain him for hours. It is placed in front of him at last. What does he do? Toddles right past it to the box is was wrapped in and entertains himself for the rest of the day. He uses it as a fort, a race car, and a drum. Toys are a dime a dozen to a child, but a good box will last until Mom finally makes it disappear.
Last Labor Day morning I woke up to the sound of rain. I wasn’t sure that’s what it was at first. I hadn’t heard the slow, soft sound of a lingering rain in a long time. I went to the door and looked out just to make sure. I stepped out onto the porch and drank in the fresh, cool air. I love rain. I think it has something to do with growing up in Louisiana. It rains a lot there – you might as well love it.
I remember being little and watching it rain, playing in the puddles, and making mud pies. I knew what was coming last Labor Day morning- “Mom, can I go play in the rain?”
Of course you can, I told my eight year old son. Out he went, before he even had breakfast. He didn’t just play IN the rain, though. He went beyond that. He played WITH the rain.
For a long time he sat in one of our plastic lawn chairs out in the rain and sang. Not words, really, just joyful sounds. Soon he was soaked.
The he decided to splash. Not just little splashes in the puddles. He took a lawn chair and positioned it just perfectly so one of the streams coming off the roof fell right into the seat. When it filled up as far as it could, he turned around and quickly sat down. SPLASH! Over and over! SPLASH! He had three chairs going at once. He would fill them in turn, then sit in them and SPLASH! This went on for about an hour.
Finally he came in, dried off, changed clothes, had breakfast, and decided to call a friend to play with him in the rain. Not long after Xan came down I heard the hose running. They were having water gun fights in the rain. After I mentioned something about there being enough water, they began to fill the guns in the streams coming off the roof.
This led to a game of jumping onto and off the porch without getting into one of the streams. Of course they were already soaked. What difference would a little more water make?
They came in the house for lunch, dried off, changed clothes, and went back out to play in the rain.
Finally they were tired. Did they come in the house? No, they laid down in the rain on the back patio and just rested with the raindrops falling on their heads.
It rained all day. They went through 3 towels each and 4 sets of clothes. My son’s friend ended up in one of my t-shirts. His parents had already brought him dry clothes and I didn’t have the heart to call them and tell them those were wet, too. I watched all manner of games form and reform with the rain not as a backdrop, but as an active playmate. I think he really should have asked, “Mom, can I go out and play with the rain?”
Children can play with anything. We can learn a lot from them.
About making the most of what is rather than waiting for what could be.
About enjoying each moment without thought of accomplishment, goals, or what anyone else thinks.
About not worrying that we’ve gone through 4 days worth of clothes in a little under 8 hours.
About entertaining ourselves with small pleasures, savoring the moment, and seizing the day.
Children can play with anything. We can learn a lot from them.
When was the last time you played, and what did you do?
