purposeful mayhem

Lots of free play and mayhem going on around here these days. Cold weather equals limited bursts of outdoor play spread throughout the day. Cold weather plus sleet, freezing rain and drizzle equals an indoors-only sentence for the day for both mother and children alike.

If I were to choose the highest compliment to pay my children and was forced to only choose one very important quality about the three of them as a whole, it would be that they rarely ever (I daresay never, because I'm sure there's been one time) tell me that they are bored. I just don't hear the word spoken in this house. Really.

Of course there is a trade-off that goes with this reality and it is something having to do with them making their own kind of fun, entertainment, games and activities in my/our living space (which is quite small).

But after all the fun is had, there is so, so much clean-up at the end of a day of free-play. It's kind of the buy now, pay later philosophy that so many adults struggle with accepting. And often my children are a bit less enthusiastic about the pay later or rather you-must-clean-up-after-you-play part of the equation than they are about the initial purchase.

It is all so wonderful and I love seeing them

build pillow forts, draw up plans for yet another theatrical performance, plan a marionette puppet presentation ("Mom, can we use your sewing machine to make some marionettes?"), dress each other up, trade outfits just for fun, move furniture, plan pillowcase sack races, paint pictures, design obstacle courses, set up store-fronts and choreograph dance routines.

Lots of activity.

In the end, everything is put back where it belongs. The chairs are pushed neatly back into their spots at the table, the sofa slipcover is pinched, pulled and straightened into place, the blankets are folded and stacked and the paint smears are cleaned off of their little foreheads.

Is it worth it? Absolutely. It is literally one of my favorite parts of motherhood and I wouldn't trade any of these days where our house is bursting at the seams with excitement, creativity and mayhem for anything.

An afternoon fort-buiding activity with my three and my darling neice Olivia