I will resist the urge to go all alliterative on you, so I’ll simply note that it’s not always easy to find an activity that appeals to wee ones and older kids at the same time, but we’re really lucky to have a 2yo that’s a confirmed “sidekick” of the older kids, ready and eager to try whatever is in the cards.
Heck, at 2, she’s already jumping off the high-dive at the pool, jumping off docks into lakes, and zipping around on her own little bike (admittedly, with training wheels, but I don’t think that’ll last much more than a year or so). We’ve begun pointing out to the older children that they need to be conscious of the behavior they’re “modeling” in front of her, least she do something even more dangerous!
Anyway, today was Labor Day, a holiday, so we needed to come up with some activities to get us out of the house and do something fun and physical.
So we decided to bike down to the tourist mecca Pearl Street Mall, which didn’t mean that we expected the 2yo to ride almost three miles, but that the other two did bike in both directions with only a few complaints along the way. The little one? She sat in the booster seat behind me on my bike, even though her legs are getting just a little big long for that configuration to work.
What’s a delight is to see our kids happily pedal away, pay attention to traffic signs and traffic flow, and really, it seemed like no more than about ten minutes for us to get down to a very busy Mall today. In fact, it was mobbed, but bicycling has another advantage: no worries about parking!
We got there, went to one of our favorite lunch spots – BD’s Mongolian BBQ – and then wandered around a bit while enjoying the various street performers.
Then, early afternoon, we rode home, rendezvoused with some friends then went out bowling to a local alley. Again, great fun and the kids really enjoyed the chance to visit with their friends and bowl.
I must say that bowling is a lot more fun when you have kids with you too: they have rails they can put up now that block the gutters, making it impossible to get a gutter ball. Sure, it might not be pure bowling, but for kids who aren’t very good bowlers, it’s sure a lot more fun to hit at least one pin on each roll rather than have the experience of mostly gutter balls!
Anyway, a good holiday, and some good fun. Tomorrow, we’re back in school and thank goodness for that.
What did you do with your family on this holiday weekend?
I sleep with a bright young woman in a “family bed” arrangement. For the time being it is meaningful for her and I am willing to continue, but I would like to gently and meaningfully end this part of our relationship. I am seeking accounts from young women who chose to leave the family bed, or were put out of the family bed.
“How old were you?”
“Why did you or your parents make that choice?”
“What conflicts did you have, inside or with others?”
“Do you feel good about the later effects of this separation?”
“Do you have any tips on how to make this transition easier, for a young woman who likes the family bed, of for the man who needs her to leave and doesn’t want to hurt her?”