Dirt - It Does a Body Good

One day the bathroom sink on the main floor of our house had dirt smears all over it.

I must admit I was thrilled. Strange isn't it? I'm sure some of you clean freaks people think that is odd, but here is why it makes me happy:

Dirt means that my kids have been outside playing.

When my kids were little they didn't watch t.v. very often. We didn't have cable and I didn't let them watch very many videos. Saturday morning they would watch cartoons. The rest of the time they played. They ran around outside, they played on our swing set, you'd find us at the park or at a friends house. When they were inside they worked on various crafts, played with their toys or read books.

Today, at the ages of 12 and 14 (almost 15 - GULP!) they aren't so apt to run around outside. Life is a bit different now. They are still limited in how much t.v. they watch or how many video games they play, but sometimes they are sooooo bored that they'll go play outside.

I think they forget how much fun it is to discover treasures outside. Sometimes I forget to play too. When they were little, I "had" to go to the park and play with them. I "had" to read books to them. I "had" to create crafts with them. I "had" to get down on the floor and play with them.

I "had" to because I wanted I wanted to be a good mom. Of course I enjoyed it, but there is a difference now. I don't "have" to read to them anymore, play with them at the park or dig in a sandbox with them. But I should! Playing is something that people of all ages need to do. I've been using my stamps more in the last few days than I have for quite a while. Why is this?

I changed my attitude after

taking a break from reading blogs.

If you knew you had ten years to live, what would you do differently? How would you spend your time differently?