trampoline therapy...

Julia was upset yesterday {not a terribly uncommon occurrence}.  She gets very clingy when I leave. I have meetings for my church calling every week and at times I plan a grocery menu which necessitates a trip to my favorite grocery store :). But other than that I am pretty much home. I'll be honest, I have been very frustrated with her clinginess. After-all she is 8. I was babysitting when I was 8, not latching to my mother's leg like a leech {at least that's how I remember it. I'm sure my mother would have a very different memory. Inaccurate of course, but different}. Usually I give her a hug and shoo her away as I walk out the door.  Generally, I can look forward to at least 5 drama-filled phone calls while I'm away :). Yesterday for some reason, I decided to talk to her more about her anxiety with me leaving. She told me she just didn't get to spend enough time with me :(.  My initial reaction to this claim... complete nonsense. I'm home all. the. time. True, I am rather preoccupied with laundry, dishes, homework, the other {more demanding} children.  I promised her I would change that.  So tonight I did. Bedtime is typically 8:30 and we were quickly approaching 9 {what's the worst that could happen if they got to bed a little late? Late for school? Like that's never happened before ;)}.  


They wanted their mother to jump on the trampoline. By golly, I was going to jump on the trampoline.


Surprisingly I didn't even wet my pants {that is a valid concern after birthing 4 children}.  We played dead man, dead man come alive and ring around the rosies {O's personal favorite}.  I started an hour long prank pulling fiasco by putting ice down Lincoln's pants, which led to a rather large cup full of COLD water on Julia's head.  Why Julia?  Because I quickly pulled the, "I can take all of your privileges away card" {I know that's not playing fair is it?}.  Julia then concocted a mixture of sour cream and water to pour on Lincoln's head.  He fired back with a apple covered in sour cream that he rubbed on her freshly washed hair.  He showered.  Then she showered again.  They all brushed teeth and said prayers and it was off to bed. 


It was liberating to be a child again for one night.  I have always prided myself on being a "fun" person. But somehow I've become that mother at the park who teaches her child to airplane swing because I would rather sit on the park bench and chat with a friend or read a book. Somehow I have been letting day to day life take over and I've forgotten how fun it can be to... just play.  


I discovered why the children are always giggling when they're playing outside {at least when they're not fighting}. Jumping on the trampoline really did wonders for my soul tonight!


 
Julia- my little ray of sunshine.  That is in fact a double rainbow we saw at the cabin, a couple of summers ago!