After reading this beautiful post at LuSa Organics, I got very inspired. Rachel Jepson Wolf writes a poignant poem about the virtues of raising a child simply and letting them play and just be. The message to scale back a bit has not been lost on me. I really can see the difference when Rowan is just allowed to tool around the back yard and do his thing. He is happy, less agitated and imaginative. I suspect wholeheartedly this is what childhood should be.

This weekend Rowan and I spent a morning outside making bubbles. After we blew bubbles , Rowan started just playing with the bowls, mixing water and making various concoctions. He measured and poured and made me various blue beverages. It was good fun, for both of us.

Here is an excerpt from Rachel’s poem that stuck with me:

Give me a childhood unburdened so that I may be the person I am meant to be.
I don’t need more toys
or newer. or better.
I need less.
Just give me a few wooden planks, your old mixing bowls, and a shovel.
To play
To get dirty
To live

and a recipe for homemade bubbles:

Homemade Bubbles

1/2 cup of dishwashing soap
1 1/2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of sugar

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and play.