Today I took two of my kids to a nature program in one of the state parks. They meet every Thursday for 2.5 hours for the month of July. I decided to sign them up to give the week a bit of structure, so that there would be something special to look forward to each week in addition to whatever other trips and activities I plan.
It was a very nice program, though my 9 yo seems to enjoy grumbling about the activities I plan. I almost don’t hear him anymore, or I just laugh at him when he tells me how bad it was. Tonight my 7 year old daughter told me she thinks he complains because it’s fun, because they were together at the activities and he was having fun the entire time. They hiked, played games, did crafts, and learned useful information – and every minute of it is science.
While they were busy with their activities, the other three kids and I went to the two acre playground just a few minutes walk away. The 6 year old took the 2 year old around, up and down slides, climbing and jumping up and down the different things available – usually he doesn’t get to play the part of big brother because he has so many older siblings around who do it better than him. He told me that it was very hard (though having been the youngest for almost 4 years, he has the typical personality of a youngest child, of everything being too much work), but at dinner, when we went around the table and everyone shared the best part of their day, he said taking care of his little brother at the playground was his favorite thing!
When we picked up the 7 and 9 year olds, they were excited to share with me one particular piece of information they learned on their hike. The naturalist pointed out berries that were edible to the group, and mentioned that a lot of people like to can them. You know that didn’t escape their attention! A few minutes later, they pointed out the berries, called wineberries. We spontaneously decided to extend our outing and do some berry picking. We picked about a quart of berries. It wasn’t too much when I think of canning them, but when I think of buying a quart of raspberries in the store, it seems like a lot!
And the picking of the wineberries themselves was like an activity. I don’t mind spending time on things like this because I treat it like a fun part of the day, not a chore to get through. They have thorns, though, and my 26 month old had a hard time getting to where the berries were without getting pricked. I ended up spending most of my time finding canes for him to pick from that were isolated from others, so he could reach in without hurting himself. We’ll pick some next time we go, and hopefully more will be ripe so that we can gather a bunch while we’re out.
Avivah
One of the very few things I’ve actually enjoyed about my children growing up and moving out of the house is seeing the younger children change as it happens. Each time one moves out, everyone else shifts roles, matures in new ways, and redefines their relationships with the siblings still present. When the first one left, the youngest was two and was quite sure, until he was able to talk to her on the phone, that his big sister had fallen off the face of the earth! When the second left, it was fun to watch the third daughter, a “youngest” child in a sense because there is a big gap after her, take on the oldest role. This school year, my fourth child left for college. He has always been so involved and encouraging to each of his siblings that the younger two actually developed an intense rivalry over his attention. It has been wonderful to watch their relationship grow closer, more fun, and more g-dly as they can appreciate each other for who they are instead of how the other is affecting their time with big brother!