Yesterday I had the joy of spending a “day outside” with my five year old grandson. I told him that we would play outside all day, and what a “day” it was.
First of all, forget the fancy toys. He swung on the swingset for five minutes or so. He also drove his “gator” around the yard for a few minutes, but all he needed for HOURS of fun was a STICK! Well, honestly – three sticks. One stick was his axe. He used it to cut the “trees” growing under his slide where PaPaw couldn’t mow. His second “stick” was a sword. He wielded it with skill, attacking trees and could be heard to say – “This sword – it will kill.” Sounds like someone has been watching “Forged in Fire” with PaPaw! His third stick was a gun – he used it to shoot at the poor chickens, who probably didn’t have such a fun day!
Our major excitement for the day was when Buddy, the dog chased a chicken into PaPaw’s shop, and we couldn’t get it out. We had to call Papaw to let him know “Houston, we have a problem!” He just laughed! Aiden helped Gammy sweep out the garage – who knew that dirt clods could be so much fun to destroy? When we got hot from all our “hard work,” we enjoyed strawberry Kool-aid popsicles that FINALLY got frozen. We picked and ATE strawberries out of the patch, and we ate strawberry waffles for lunch! Mom told us to see if he was growing seeds in his skin because he ate so many strawberries! “Ma is silly!” he said.
After a huge day playing outside ALL day, Gammy fixed chicken tenders and homemade fries for supper. We played in the tub “doing science experients” (yes, we watched “Dino Dana” during breakfast), before climbing into Gammy’s lap and falling asleep in less than ten minutes! What a day at PaPaw and Gammy’s house! Oh, to have the energy and imagination of a five year old! Life is so good, Remember to take time to enjoy some “time outside!” God Bless, Courtney