Keep It Simple

I was humbly reminded by my toddler last week that kids don't need all the things and to be doing all the activities to be content. My mom was here visiting and it was her last full day with us. I took the day off from work so we could spend the whole day together. We spent the morning visiting a local coffee shop, taking a walk downtown to the church playground, and picking up a few lawn and garden items from the store. It was a great morning. By the time we returned home, Luke was ready for a nap and mom and I took advantage of this time to re-pot some plants. I always love a productive nap time!

Now for part two of our day. We discussed afternoon plans and decided it was a little too hot outside to go to the pool like we had talked about earlier. Instead, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to go to a small play gym in town to beat the heat and expel all of the energy that comes from a freshly napped and fed 16 month old.

We ate lunch and headed out the door. It wasn't until we were down the street from the gym that it hit me...they are closed on Mondays! 🤦 I was so disappointed that I had forgotten about this. Luke was getting antsy in the back seat and I felt bad that I couldn't deliver on the promise that we were going somewhere fun and that we were almost there. I didn't think we would make it the 25 minutes back home without doing something....anything! Mom and I brainstormed any fun indoor places we could go and came up empty. The other indoor kid place in town is also closed on Mondays, he is too small/young for the play area at Chic fil A, and it was just too hot to go to an outdoor playground. UGH!

The only place I could think of was the mall. If you are not familiar with the mall in New Bern, it is small and not very crowded at all. It has a long carpeted hallway and lots of windows to look into. You wanna know something? Luke loved it there. He ran around, exploring, waving hi to everyone that he saw. We went into one store where he made some new special friends and another where he had a blast checking out all of the toys in the toy section. He laughed and he smiled and he ran his little legs out just enough to nap on the way back home. He had the afternoon of his life, in his eyes.

The same goes for toys. Luke is just as happy, if not happier, playing with an empty Amazon box, a paper towel roll, or in the dirt outside. Yet, his room is FULL of toys, books, etc. We have already discussed going through it all and downsizing. He wouldn't know any different at this stage in the game. I honestly think that he becomes distracted when he plays because he has so much to choose from.

I can already see, as a new mom, how easy it can be to fall into the trap of wanting to buy all of the latest and greatest toys and feeling the need to want to constantly be on the go and staying busy. The truth is, all kids really need are our time, love, and attention. Luke didn't need to be anywhere special to have a good time with us. He made his own good time in an empty mall, being silly with his mom and Grammy. Honestly, he would have been perfectly happy staying home that afternoon playing in his room with us. New and outside experiences are a fun treat but we don't have to feel like we have to entertain that way all of the time. New toys are great, but don't let what they do and don't have determine the quality of their childhood.

Keep it simple, my friends. Be present, have fun, and know that you are doing a great job!