Little people create joyful chaos. Today, my husband has our young grandkids, Sam and Amelia, centered on a blanket with a dozen stuffed animals and sofa pillows, traveling around the house on their magic carpet ride. “Do it again, Pop!” The game never gets old.
When did I blink and my children have children? My kids use to ride the magic carpet through our first little house with slippery paver tile floors in Southern California. I watch them smiling as Pop is flying around the house with his magic carpet ride and using my sofa pillows. Quickly, I rummage through my armoire for better or more to-the-point, older pillows.
When I was a young mom, this game was a mixed bag. I loved the laughter, but the danger and destruction were always present. Heads were bumped when the blanket ride turned a corner too fast. Inevitably, the pretty sofa pillows became shabby, not chic. Collateral damage may occur but, controlled danger can be a lot of fun for little ones. The adventure builds something brave and good inside the soul of a little person.
Amelia is squealing and Sam is hanging on tight to the edge of the blanket. The game ends in a pile of pillows, blankets, and kids laughing. Their cheeks are red from their hard play. My thoughts retreat to my four kids who played with their dad.
I like to play too, but my play is sitting in a pile of Legos creating make-believe worlds or making a kingdom of stuffed animals. Pop plays differently, both are good. Child’s play is their work. It is their first vocation of creating. When I was a young mom I didn’t have a bird’s eye view of what becomes of children that play.
Today, I see it. The gift of time gives perspective. My young adults have stepped forward into their grown-up worlds with the ability to work and play with their whole hearts. That magic carpet ride launched them into new worlds that they bravely navigate. Now they are launching their little ones.
Perfect pillows are overrated. How do you like to play with the children in your life?
#childsplay #playtime #pillowfight #dadsthatplay #hoponpop #mimilife #vocationofplay
