Grand Parenting Outside

Water and sand, two God-made items that intrigue a 4-year-old like nothing else can. I am grand parenting a happy boy who is completely mesmerized by these two items today. He is pouring, burying, scooping, digging, piling, showing off, and laughing. We are at the sand pile, a place I have been trying to coax him to for twenty minutes. I should know better. He is four. Everything has to be his own idea. Painting, coloring, play dough and toys are a much larger mess, and they rarely keep his interest As long as I spend taking them out, and cleaning them up. Best of all, I am sitting in God’s world, a gentle breeze lulling me with a sense of beauty and peace. I never feel this good anywhere other than outside, among the glittering trees and gentle grass. My shoes are off, and I am enjoying the remembering of my own summer hood, spent mostly outside. My daughter will be along shortly, to snatch him up, and thank me, making me feel guilty. It is me who should be doing the thanking. The wind rises, and the child laughs, bringing the best of the best to my own sweet world. I live for these days. Pure joy.