Unstructured Time

I am not sure what The Girl was doing this particular day. Her best friend, Nicole, was over and they were painting, but I believe more paint got on them than on the paper.

There is something to be said, however, for their self-motivated creativity. I recall hours on end spent outside doing heaven knows what but having the time of my life as a kid.

I don't think kids have that kind of free rein anymore. I wish they did. Sadly the world is full of, what my friend's mom called, "pre-verts", so it is honestly more difficult to let them alone with quite the same abandon as when I was a kid. BUt they do well to learn how to entertain themselves.

As the kids get older, they seem more and more reliant on electronics and gadgets to fill their time. They need a game boy, an iPod, or a cell phone to find their own amusement. Too bad they grow out of the stage so quickly where the box is more exciting than their present.

I bequeath each of you at least thrity minutes of unstructured play time this weekend. Don't plan it too much, though. Just play. And don't be too worried if it even gets a little messy.