"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." ~ Helen Keller

Thank you, Nerf. I am getting jumped and pelleted everywhere I turn, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, as I walk around corners...My assailant? A wide-eyed, grinning 8 year old with nothing but the joy of victory all over his face. They say if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and so started an all out hide and seek, jump over couches, stealth hunting Nerf war. It has been the most fun I have had with any kids' toy since I started playful parenting.  

I think I have admitted before that playing with the kids, in their world, with their ideas isn't always easy. In fact, it can be hard as hell sometimes if I am not in the mood or mindset. But, something is happening. I am changing. Yesterday I talked about that gnawing feeling I get when I am not being authentic-- well that was happening almost everytime I sat down to play with the kids. My body was there, but I knew my mind wasn't. The kids were getting disgruntled with me, too. How silly of me to think they wouldn't notice an absent mind. So what has changed? Definitely a resolve-- a promise to myself and to my kids that I was going to devote time to each of them, individually, everyday.  Not just because they wanted my attention, but they needed it. More practically though? Just plain practice helped me change.  Like with anything else, the more you practice, the better you get.  And the better I get, the more fun I am having. The more fun I am having, the more my kids feel it and that, makes them feel incredible.  

Oh, and, a warning here, Nerf is addictive. I have my eye on this one next.