Never in my wildest dreams did I think a swing set would mean so much to a toddler. My goodness, we took the boy to a friend’s house who had a rockin’ swing set with a slide and a little fort. The boy went bonkers. Imagine one’s brain on overload to the point where they just can’t imagine what to do. Combine that with the sensation of seeing something for the first time ever and then you got what the boy had. He ran up and down. He climbed up the ladder and then went down the slide probably 80 times. He wanted to get into the swing at the same time so when we put him into the swing, he wanted to be on the slide. Then on the slide, he was looking at the swing. Craziness.
Needless to say, he is sleeping right now! That’s what I love about kids. The wild look of energy in their eyes combined with the fresh face of innocence. You can tell a child’s face apart from an adult simply by the eyes. Look at a young kid, their eyes open all the way. There are no wear marks, wrinkles (of course) and they want to see everything. Now look at the average adult. Their eyes don’t open all the way. They look tired even when they aren’t, and those eyes have seen a lot of good and bad. It’s a more guarded look. But not with a tot. They want it all. Gosh, I miss those years.
2 Comments
April 22, 2008 at 4:18 am
Thank You! For bringing home a few memories. We built a swingset and climber for our boys when the eldest was about 5 or 6. You couldn’t find a more attentive child who would leap to bring tools, screws, nails or whatever was asked for to build his “monster swings”. He lived out there that entire summer! Such excitement over a pile of lumber, a few chains and a plastic slide.
April 22, 2008 at 6:45 pm
And Mike, thanks to you, honestly for making me feel good about that. We have an old box from a gift we got months ago. That box has been used as a jumping stage, a hockey goal and a fort against monsters. (yes, the monsters again. Ugh).