Our Days in a Nutshell

It's been Groundhog Day around here lately. My kids have established a routine:

Wake Up
Go to School
Dig in Mud
Go to Bed



For three days they have spent every free minute in the mud. We have (should I say had?) a beautiful forsythia bush in the backyard. Every spring it bursts forth in vibrant yellow and every summer is provides us shade and privacy from our neighbors on that side. A week ago Benjamin decided to start digging around it to create a pit which he called his swimming pool. Ever since then it's a muddy, jumbled mess back there. Mud and torn up tree roots everywhere, piles of dirt thrown in all directions. Our neighbor came into our yard yesterday while they were digging and asked, astonished, "Where did you get all that dirt?" "From under our grass!" I replied. "Maybe you should buy them a sandbox," she replied, wide-eyed. All attempts to stop him have failed and partly I'm to blame. He's just having so gosh darn much fun! How do you stop a boy who's so delightedly playing at something which is ultimately so simple and carefree? In any case, he (and thus of course, the other two) spend their days digging, scraping, and watering their dirt patch. I've started requiring them to dress in only one article of clothing to save on laundry. I am torn between frustraton at the disaster they are making and delight at their creativity and fun. Unless they do ultimately kill the bush, I'm going to chalk this one up to "snips and snails" kind of boy fun and just let it go.