There are times that I feel we barely live at our house
thanks to working full time and going to school. When we are there, we fall
into these terrible bad habits of mindless television watching for hours on
end. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy sitting down to enjoy a television program
now and again. But when every night is spent with the blasted television on, a
person can't help but go a little stir crazy.
This television thing had been getting under my skin, so finally it came to the point where last week I needed a break. We all needed a break. We needed to shake up our nightly routine and encourage new activities. Wednesday was the day that I ushered in some change. Jordan planned on collecting the children from Nana’s so I went straight home after work and started on dinner. I had a hot meal ready and on the table when the children and Jordan walked in the door. This is not routine for us. Normally I’m rushed to throw something together for dinner, and usually this means simple and not-so-balanced meals. Having dinner ready to eat only added to the fun that we would have that evening.
We all sat down to eat and as we were making our way through our meal, I announced my plan to head over to the park as soon as we were done eating. I suggested we bring the dogs along, too, because they have needed some serious attention. I told Jordan he was not allowed to shower until after we got home, because I didn’t want anything getting in the way of us escaping to the park. The kids were ecstatic! They ate at a faster pace because they knew what our evening plans entailed.
We piled in the car and drove over to a park we recently discovered. The playground there is awesome! It has a lot of different attractions for the kids. A creek runs by this particular park, so we took a minute and strolled down the path that runs adjacent to the water. We played on the swings and on the playground for a while before leaving to head back home.
On our way back home I told Jordan that we needed to do this
more, to be spontaneous and to be more active. He totally agreed. As the warmer
months approach, I find myself yearning to be outside, just to be and enjoy the sunshine. I want to
enjoy the warmth with my little family, to be outside and loving life together.
Here’s hoping this is not the only escape we take to the park this spring/summer.
