Today was a rainy day in Southern California, and it was beautiful. Typically I don't like the rain, but today for some reason I loved it. And, last night it was pouring and the sound of the great shower enveloped us. The kids were intrigued. It still amazes me that the smallest things in life bring up such questions and wonders.
After we had the long talk about clouds and how they work, I dropped the kids off at school. As usual, Sophia asked what we were going to do after school, and I said my typical, "We're going to go crazy". She said, "MOMMMMM, seriously"!!! I said, "I'm serious".
I had already figured we'd have a hay day playing in the rain after school if it was raining at that time. However, I did not anticipate having as much fun as we did!!! You see I'm typically a mom that wants my kids sparkly clean 99% of the time so this was out of character for me. I threw all caution to the wind and had a plan.
When school ended, it wasn't raining. I was a little bummed but decided I'd take them to the baseball field to work with them on batting and using a glove. Zack was knocking the balls out as far as the pitchers mound, and the smile on his face was sign enough for me that playing ball with them was a good decision. Sophia was our catcher, and she has a great arm (for a girl)! LOL! I say that tongue in cheek because I think girls can be great athletes.
After working on Zack's batting, we decided to play catch to work on his comfortability with a glove. He was doing well, and learning how to hold the glove correctly for the different kinds of balls he might have to catch - grounder, pop fly, line drive, etc... NO, I didn't hit a line drive at my son, but I did hit him about 10 pop flies. He caught 3 of them which was cool for him. I think that the best esteem builder for kids other than teaching them of God's unconditional love is for them to succeed at tasks that they are just learning and that they once thought were impossible.
In my humble opinion, I think it's important to focus on their strengths while slowly and methodically and inconspicuously building their weaknesses. One of Zack's weaknesses is always wanting to win. At his core level, he wants to quit or not try things at which he doesn't think he can win or succeed. I figure he'd miss out on so many things in life if I just let him live his life like that. And at his age, I still have some sort of "control" over that so I push him gently and sometimes nudge him in directions he wouldn't normally go.
He didn't want to play baseball or even try it because "batting is too hard and the ball will hit me". We've played baseball together a handful of times and now he gets so excited to get the bat in hand and swing away. He said today, "Mom, this is fun and not hard at all."
Which brings me back to our baseball fun today. When I was hitting the kids some balls, it began to rain lightly. Then it began to pour! There was a huge puddle forming and soon it looked like a tiny pond where the short stop would usually stand. I put all of the baseball stuff away and noticed them eyeing the puddle from close up! Out of the blue I said, "Go for it"!!! They stopped dead in their tracks and looked at me.
"What do you mean, mom"? I said, "Do whatever you want to do in the puddle"? "I'm going to put the baseball stuff in the car." I was going to grab my camera (truth be told). When I got back from the car, this is what I found. And, I have to tell you, it made my heart smile. This is what being a kid is all about!
When they were finished, I realized that I had no clothes in the car for them. I usually do so I hadn't given it a second thought. When I searched the car, I realized that I did have some clothes - the snow bibs that a friend gave me for the kiddos!
The sky was so beautiful this afternoon. I tried to capture the beauty, but these pictures don't do it justice! And, remember I can't put my windows down!!! Zack is actually the one who noticed the beautiful clouds. When I started telling him that God made the clouds, he quickly told me that he already knew that! Only God can make things hang in the sky like that.
If you read yesterdays blog, you'll understand what I mean when I say that God romanced me today.
No comments:
Post a Comment