DocAndersen
Yesterday as I was making the next to the last turn on my walk, I stopped and took a picture of the neighborhood pool. The silent reflection of my walk, broken by the sound of children playing. That said, I decided to finish up the 11-01 folder in the other pictures today, There were just a few pictures left to share in the folder. Normally I have a memory of the event in question. I know I was part of the event, I took the pictures (or possibly my daughter did which may be why I don’t remember). It does, however, bring up the reality of being a parent. My parents taught me many years ago to listen and be respectful. To hear what others say and give them credence. To make sure people know you heard them.
But being a parent is so much more than listening. It is a willingness to be in the moment with the kids. You have to engage at the child’s level. As adults, we often find our world’s further and further apart. We go to work and are expected to be a certain way. We come home, and we are expected to be different than we are at work. The older you get, the harder sometimes it is to make that transition. That is why sometimes you have to get on the slide and be your inner child. I am not saying by the way that this is the only way and the only model to use when raising children. It is the one that works for me. It doesn’t work for everyone. You have to choose your path as a parent.
My wife, also felt the same way, that sometimes you have to play. There are a couple of pictures, her pushing the twins in the wing and her in the middle of a tube on a playground. Both of them, her being at their level and just playing. Parenting can be a wonderful gift. Children are a gift that keeps giving, each passing year the gift different. Cherish
There are many pictures of my wife playing with the kids. I did as well, but I was the primary photographer, so there aren’t many pictures of me in the mud playing. Yes, in the mud playing. Pictures I suspect now my wife wishes she had captured.
Indeed you do, great photo.