A Sweet New Stage

As I ran hither and thither around the house today, picking up toys and scattered objects of various kinds, I paused to appreciate the sounds in our home. Specifically, I was enjoying the sounds made by two children happily playing together. As Master's verbal and motor skills increase, he and his sister are spending increased amounts of time playing with each other.

Lately, they have begun to close themselves into Miss's bedroom, turn on a CD, and just play. They laugh, they squeal, they jump around. They look at books quietly, they play with puzzles, and then they laugh and jump around some more. Miss is the queen of all things imaginary, and she assigns roles to her brother in her various made-up worlds. She creates obstacle courses with books and toys, and they take turns running through them together. I will often open the door to check on them, only to be greeted by Miss running toward me saying "It's OK! We're OK. We just want to play!" The door is then unceremoniously shut in my face.

But, she is right. They are OK. They are having a great time. There is no adult in that room to interfere, to tell them how to play, or to try to direct their activities. Since becoming a parent, I have found myself feeling more and more convinced that unstructured play is really very important for our kids. I am thrilled to see them growing and developing the independence to pursue it. And I am thrilled that I can *gasp* sit down for a few minutes, drink some tea, and listen in from afar.