Making the Most of Fall

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that Spike and I had nothing to do. No groceries to get, people to visit, classes to attend, or visitors to entertain. Even the house was clean. A whole day with no agenda.

I bet most of you working stiffs out there are jealous of having a day like that. When I wake up to a day with no plans, though, it's hard to drag my sorry self out of bed.

A whole day before you with nothing that needs to be accomplished and nothing to challenge or even just entertain you can be daunting, especially if you're faced with too many of them in a row. You are responsible for how much activity, nourishment and stimulus you get not only for your child, but for your own brain as well.

Stay at home parenthood requires patience, creativity, and energy. If you don't have (or develop or fake) those character traits, you're going to end up bored and bitter. There have been a few periods of time in the last year and a half that I've gotten depressed because I let myself get to the bored and bitter level.

There's lots of ways to make it fun and interesting--one way that I took advantage of yesterday was going OUTSIDE. But as you will see, even on the days when I am trying my darndest to be patient, creative, and energetic, I sometime still end up bored and snapping at Isaac.

Yesterday I started by praying. Then I peeled my pregnant butt off the couch and went for a walk. I decided Izey and I needed to seize the autumness of the day (yeah, I made up a word), so I took him out of the stroller when we came to a grove of trees with a carpet of cruchy leaves on the ground.

Isaac sloshed through the leaves, smiling, laughing, and finding a big stick to poke stuff with (a must on outdoor adventures). I made a big pile of leaves and he came right over and did a belly flop in it, proving that jumping into leaves is an inherent human desire, much like the desire to eat dessert first or to laugh at bodily functions.

After his lunch and nap, I was trying to get some stuff done while he followed me and whined. I was getting F.R.U.S.T.R.A.T.E.D. with him, and even hollared at him a couple times, "Isaac! Stop whining!" That is super helpful AND effective with a 17 month old.

Remembering how much fun we had in the leaves that morning, I decided the cure for my afternoon crabbies was to go back outside. We headed to another park and I brought my camera this time. Isaac was being extra photogenic, so here are a bunch of my cutie-patootie, much less whiney and happier than he had been inside.

Watching the ducks

Climbing

Crossing a bridge

Fun in a tunnel

So it ended up being an overall good day. Make no mistake, though, when I saw the blank space under "Wednesday" on the calendar, I called a friend and made some plans!