Gift In Being Present: a Toad
So I just bought this fabulous book: 15 Minutes Outside.
It hadn’t arrived yet.
We NEEDED to get outside. I had No plan.
Before anyone praises me as a mother, you must realize that I am a horrible failure as a mother in many ways.
One of them is quality time. I RARELY unplug enough to be…
Present
Yesterday, I had no plan, just desperation to get them outside – to enjoy nature.
Trickier than it sounds when you have a child that cannot get himself to nature. I decided to carry him…all 60 lbs of him. He supports himself some for a sort of toe walking that he does, but I knew I could only last so long. I was just praying we’d get to see, smell, hear enjoy something worthwhile before we had to plop down. I didn’t dare imagine it might stay with us wherever we planted ourselves. B and I were both were dependent. The girls came along too, free to explore on their own.
The gift we were given is this amazing toad. He was willing to:
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Sit still in front of a wiggly child for 10-15 minutes,
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Put up with the girls getting in his face. (They next became a mess of static hair in the tent, sharing screams and giggles, all right beside this majestic little amphibian.)
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AND, even more amazingly, let me hold a hot-pink iPhone in his face (6 inches from it) while that wiggly kid was in my arms!
What a toad!
So how about you?
How are you getting out there?
How are you making yourself unplug and be PRESENT?
a Rearranged Life 
http://www.kidzone.ws/lw/frogs/facts8.htm An at-a-glance guide: If you’d like to let your kids in on the difference between frogs and toads.