Tuesday Thoughts...

For the past couple of days, I have waited to go to the park with Sarah until the evening. She's on some medication that makes her skin more sensitive to the sun so we've gone out after supper. Last night as I was reflecting and watching her play, I had a few thoughts come to mind. Sarah is nine years old. Her style of play would say otherwise though. As I was observing her it seemed like the word "simple" was one to describe her. Sure there are other things that make her uniquely complex but something about seeing her play outside was simple. She went on one slide over and over again with no need or desire to try anything else out. Part of this is because the amount of louder kids on the other equipment keeps her from venturing too far. After 20 or more "slides", we made our way to the swing, her little hand tucked in mine. The large swing, designed for special needs kids was free and she quickly made her way over. This type of swing allows her to relax and fully enjoy the swinging motion without having to think about holding on or balancing. After the swinging, we made our way back to the now empty climbing structure where she began to take my order and made me coffee, fries, and hotdogs.

She's a quiet observer when she's out. Occasionally she will interact with other kids but only if there's one or two and if they appear to be calm and usually they are younger in age than her but closer to her developmentally. Last night I was her playmate and we had a wonderful evening together. These are the things she remembers and I love being with her, playing and watching her discover the world around her.

The swing that makes her feel safe and secure

Parks & Playgrounds

Sarah is beginning to love going to playgrounds these days, now that she's beginning to master the climbing structures and slides. It is tough for me at times because she is still so little and her balance is still really poor. She also is very innocent, naive and can easily be pushed around. I try to find a good mixture of watching her closely while at the same time letting her explore and challenge herself. Today I had taken the girls to a park to play and Sarah was doing fine until she wandered to the swings and was hit on the face by one that was gently moving in the breeze. Kinda tough when the base of the swings comes to her face level. The other problem with 'big kid' swings is the fact that she doesn't always remember to hold on. When she indicates that she's done, she simply lets go. Up until now, I've managed to catch her and prevent a fall but part of me is expecting a tumble to occur.

Sometimes Sarah likes to sit back and just watch the goings on that are happening. Bigger kids ( not my own) can be quite rambunctious and rowdy and it can be too much for her. Today while she was sitting on a platform just keeping an eye on things, she ended up in the middle of a fight between two boys who were throwing fist fulls of wood chips. Poor girl received a handful of chips in her face which indicated (for her) then end of the play time. I did firmly and loudly tell the boys to not throw things around my kid and apologies were made. It makes me sad when a fun time ends on a note of tears though. Thankfully, a trip to Sobey's and a cookie make things better for her.

Lots of learning for both of us. It was the first time I've stood up like that but I had to defend her and the protector in me was really unhappy. She's recovered and so have I and I am thankful that by tomorrow she will have forgotten everything that happened and will be ready to play again!

First Park Day of the Year

The weather has finally improved enough to venture outside with the kids.  Specifically Sarah who has been sick for over two weeks.  I was suffering from cabin fever and needed to get out.  It was a little chilly yet but the walk was refreshing and the kids had a great time running around.  Here's a few pictures that documented our morning!

She sort of enjoyed the swing...

But not really

I love the missing teeth!

A little happier

Leap of faith!

Taking Sarah down the slide

Such a great big sister!

Must feel like she's flying!

My three bigs and one little!