October 20, 1997
"Time For Games"
by Diana Waring

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Dear Friends, We are, at this moment, in a home away from home. Precious new friends in Dallas, Texas, have taken us into their hearts and home while we are doing homeschooling seminars in this area. So, as we begin, let me wish you a WARM Texas welcome!!!... (from both the heart and the heat!)... On our trip south, God began stretching me in an unexpected, but delightful, way. Now, this is not one of those ghastly tales of endurance. Don't run away, this isn't one of those, "Oh, God, please don't send me to Africa," type of stories. This was, indeed unexpected, but it was truly delightful. So come on and join me. You see, for years my dear husband has been in charge of playing with the kids. Time for games? Bill would gladly sit down at the table and play rousing card games, board games, educational games, word games, etc., with our children... while I quietly made my escape to my room with a research book in my hand, or huddled with the phone doing "business". Time to wrestle? Michael, my fourteen year old son, would come after his dad with that certain look in his eye, and everyone except me would jump into a family wrestling match. Time to ride bikes, climb mountains, play basketball? Bill would eagerly join in with whatever was happening... while I would take a deep breath, look around for some unfinished bit of work, and get on with "producing" and "accomplishing". I wasn't worried about my children needing an adult to interact with them in their times of playing, since my husband was SO good at filling that role. But, somehow, I missed the point of how much delightful fun and sheer joy I was missing out on... until this past week. It all started with a dill pickle slice. My sixteen year old son, Isaac, is the most gentle, sweet, loving young man a parent could ask for... but when you look real closely at his eyes, you notice a mischievous twinkle lurking amongst the blue.This young man, combined with the dill pickle slice, introduced a change in me. We had stopped at a rest area for our picnic lunch, and, while I traipsed over to the garbage can to "do the dishes", Isaac quietly slipped a bit of dill pickle into my "gourmet water with lemon" mug. My kids have been strictly trained that Mom only drinks water with lemon in it... we have even turned the car around to get Mom's water... Mom'll share her water, but nobody messes with the mug... and Isaac sort of wondered if I would notice the difference between a lemon and a pickle. I took a sip, and noticed that all eyes were on me. Hmmm... First clue. Isaac said, "How's the water, Mom?" "What do you mean, ÎHow's the water?'" "Well, does it taste any different????" "Different?" Hmmm... Second clue. "Isaac, why should it taste different?" "Well, I put a dill pickle in it." Hmmm... Third clue's the charm. "You did what?!!!!!! Tell me you're joking!!! You wouldn't REALLY ruin my water by putting a pickle in it, would you???" Grins all around. Lid off the mug, angle it so the sun could shine all the way to the bottom... Yes. There, backstroking on the bottom of my water mug, was a slice of my home-canned dill pickles. Okay. Now you see it - the choice was here: stretch, or snap. I could get so upset and throw such a fit that no one would EVER dare to mess with my gourmet water again, OR... get in the spirit of the thing. My response, and thank you, God for the grace: "You know, Isaac, from now on, you will never know when a pickle may show up." Hilarious laughter from the back seat... shouts of "Go, Mom!"... a pleased grin on my husband's face. Hmmm.... I must have handled this right... And, well, it was... fun! So, the next thing you know, we stop at a city park for a quick stretch and walk (got to keep those muscles loose, you know!). I march off, doing my power walking stuff, while my teens run to the teeter-totter, swings, etc. As I turned around to head back, I noticed a slide. Now, this was not your common, every-day, run-of-the-mill slide. No, it was a twisting, turning, looks-kind-of-wild slide. Hmmm... It's been a LONG time since I went up a slide. Hmmm... But, it looks like a LOT of fun. Hmmm... "Hey, look!!! Mom's going up the slide!!!" "Wheeee...Eeeeeiiiiii... Whompf!" Mission accomplished. And, boy, it WAS fun!!! "Okay, Bill, let's get on the teeter-totter!" A big smile. Amazed children watch as their mother climbs on a precarious perch, and proceeds to alternately laugh hysterically and scream uproariously as Dad hits bottom and bounces Mom at the top of the arc. Fun. Sheer, unadulterated fun. The kind of fun you can't hire out for someone else to do. The "hands-on", go-for-it, join-in fun that will transform you from a serious, Type-A personality, homeschooling parent into a laughing, refreshed, renewed mom who enjoys her children. I highly recommend it. (And this from a rookie!!!) :o) Blessings, Diana Return to the List of the BOTCW Columns

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