Just a typical walk...

Nate's preschool "Rainbow Connection" monthly newsletter came out today. They included an article that recently appeared something called Exchange Every Day. The article details how play has changed in children, and basically, because they don't romp unsupervised outside, etc., kids are losing their "self-regulation" and all kinds of stuff that sounds important and keeps them from doing drugs, yada, yada. So, because I always want to be a good mom & believe I am sometimes, I let the boys loose out back. AKA I got some much-desired reading time in the sun while the kids did whatever the heck they wanted without me guiding them &/or breething down the back of their necks.

It went well, actually. They even listened to my warning of "no touching the poop" which can be a tough one.

I decided to step it up a notch. Out to the front of the house we went, barefoot & ready for a walk. What better way to let off some steam, soak up some rays, & possibly meet new neighbors in the process.

Nate took off running. Not a big deal on our quiet cul-de-sac. Will & I just lagged behind holding hands & a rock (Will brought one from our yard). I had even remembered to promise Nate a special treat if he practiced good listening and watched for cars backing out of driveways. Side note: I recently read bribing 2 year olds works great and won't mess them up as long as you offer the reward before an activity or whatever and not at the time of a breakdown, as in "shut up & I'll give you a candy bar!". So I'm trying it on occasion.

All went well until it was time to turn around. I got Nate to stop 50 yards ahead of us but he wouldn't come back so we could cross the street (an incentive) and head back home on the other side of the street. I mustered up what little patience and positivity I could find and came up with encouraging remarks to get him back to me, i.e. "you can hold Will's hand to help him cross", "if you're a really good listener, we can do this all the time". I wished I had a go-go-gadget arm to grab him by the neck and pull him back to us. Eventually, as Will & I turned to go, he caught up with us, we held hands and got across the street.

Just a minute after crossing the street, Will stopped to throw rocks in some bushes. Eventually I had to tell Nate to wait and run back to get Will who was quite set on his task. As I turned back to meet up with Nate, the little bugger ran across the road. Not a big deal in the "normal" world, but in a mom's world, it was a miracle he wasn't struck and drug to Nevada.

Needless to say, I ran up to Nate (Will bouncing on my hip) and assisted him in a brisk walk straight home with a handful of hoodie in my fist. "No more walks for one week!" - like he knows what a week is. I just felt saying something and at least no cuss words were involved. When I stand back and think why would something like this be a big enough deal for me to write about, I realize it wouldn't be such a big deal if these things didn't happen to me numerous times throughout the day. I'm like a Border Collie doing my best to maintain a flock of rabid sheep.