Running and Laughing

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This weekend I took my daughter to a local park called Dinosaur Park. It has very little to do with dinosaurs per se but is every bit of park you can imagine. Nestled in the woods of Ashburn Farm, 4 large structures and dinosaur emblems stud the landscape inviting eager climbing beings of all ages to enjoy.
As we entered the park, my daughter broke into a full sprint, running and laughing with excitement. I was envious of her pure elation with something so simple- just some plastic/metal bars in the woods.
But she wasn't the only one- several children (and a few grown ups) ran around giggling and running while parents jogged behind ensuring no one collided and no one did a face plant.
I realized also that I needed more of this. Maybe not coming to dinosaur park, but really taking time to run and laugh - out loud. We take life so seriously and as of late, I have been over-serious. Worrying about the job, worrying about my daughter, worrying about her school, worrying about my husband's job. Did I mention global-warming?? AND that it is an election year?
I think that all of this is affecting my parenting too and time at the park this weekend really helped me to regroup. I will admit that I may not be sitting as often as I should. I also have not found a place to train Aikido yet either. I also haven't written in this blog for two months. So all the activities that enable me to be a rockstar parent have been on hold; which you can just imagine how not-rockstar my parenting has been.
So I promised myself as we left to ensure I started these activities again, little by little to ensure I maintain some balance and level headed parenting for my kid. Who knew a running and laughing 4 year old could share so much wisdom.

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