Every Kid Deserves a Good Pair of Boots
We are blessed with lots of rain here in the Pacific Northwest. After living in the desert of Arizona for 3 years, I LOVE the rain. I appreciate how much life it brings to this valley. And we’ve almost survived our first rainy season here. Locals tell us that we should be prepared to get wet up until the 4th of July, but we’ve seen a definite turn towards spring in the weather these last few weeks. We’re enjoying warmer temperatures and more sunshine, plus we’re getting to reap the benefits in blooming trees and fresh produce.
But, I’m not going to lie. The rainy winter is long. In January and February, weeks would go by without sunshine, and that wears on everyone. It’s tempting to cozy up inside with hot tea and watch the water run down the windows all winter. Thing is, I know a certain toddler and a certain dog that need to enjoy the freedom of being outside every day. And it turns out, I have that need, too. I just get internally grumpy when I don’t get my outside time. Kids and dogs get very externally grumpy.
Another thing we’re blessed with in our neighborhood: a meadow. It takes up about half of a block, and it is just open space cared for by folks in the neighborhood. It is edged by flowering trees and some native plants chosen to attract pollinators. (Yesterday, BabyC met her first bee in the meadow, and I think all the buzzing that we do when we read books about bees finally made sense to her.) The grass is wild and overgrown, and there are plenty of interesting sticks to play with. There are even a few stumps that BabyC loves to climb. And when it rains, there is water. But that’s it. No playground equipment and no sandbox. Yet, BabyC is happy to wander around the meadow for an hour at a time.