About a year ago we were lucky to inherit a wooden swingset for free. It was in pretty bad shape but with a little work and about $20 of materials we(Ken) were able to fix it up. Unfortunately(and fortunately), Josiah can be very cautious when it comes to heights. This is a great thing because it keeps him from tumbling down stairs or jumping off of ledges. But it also keeps him from enjoying slides. He won’t go down the slide unless he is on his belly, holding one of our hands, or we are at the bottom waiting. He did swing on the big kid swing when he was younger, but since Audrey was born and he sees her in the baby swing that is all he wants to do. This has made it difficult for me to allow them to use the swingset because if she is swinging he begs the whole time to take her out so he can swing. And if I swing him and she is roaming about she has been known to walk in the way and get knocked in the head. This is obviously a problem.
Lately though Audrey has learned to climb up the ladder to get to the slide area. She can slide down that thing all by herself. I love it! Today she demanded to be put on the big swing and Ken sat on the ground beside her to make sure she didn’t fall off. She held on perfectly and laughed the entire time. Of course, if sister was doing it, it must be good. (An aside…it is funny how one kid will forget they have a toy or object until the other kid wants it and then suddenly it is the most important and special thing in the world to the first one and they can’t part with it.) So, once Audrey was off he wanted to get on it and he proceeded to swing for at least 45 minutes. The only reason we got him to stop was because it was bed time. We had the two of them swinging at the same time and it was amazing to see the joy on their faces and hear their laughter. Josiah laughed so hard at one point that it was silent. I love when that happens. Such simple things can bring such joy. It was one of those happy moments when all the world is well. Don’t you wish you could bottle that feeling up!
Do you or your family have any simple pleasures that make you really happy?