Hi, I'm Lydia! Mommy to three: Otto, a fresh five year old who is starting kindergarten this fall; Meredith, our sweet natured three year old; and six month old Ned, who is just starting to scoot across the floor. While we currently live in the DFW metroplex, both my husband and I grew up in East Texas. Summers for us were filled with water based activities, non-scheduled days, and roaming the outdoors with our siblings.
I want that for my children, carefree activities that are quintessential to childhood. The chance to be little, to not be impeded on by all the negative in our world today, to live a simpler life. Our days in suburbia are full, events are scheduled weeks in advance, and 'town' outfits are required. Tree climbing is limited to the newly planted saplings, and manicured lawns aren't the place to dig with Tonka trucks. Someday down the road we hope to have a slightly larger piece of the American Dream and move from our wonderful-for-now neighborhood to SPACE. A plot of land that is several times larger than the house we put on it, and a sanctuary for our children to just be, without influences or timelines. Space to explore and create. Tall trees, perfect tree houses, and a garden full of the freshest of snacks. Add a go-cart, a couple of horses and a homeschool education, and we will have officially turned into my parents). I doubt that we will veer that far off the standard path, but it was a wonderful way to grow up and I am forever thankful for the sacrifices they made for me. Hopefully, a similar experience will be possible for my children in the not-so- distant future.
In the interim, we are thankful that we have family to visit, little glimpses of life with a different pace. My children know that trips to see family in July will include picking blueberries at Barron's and lighting fireworks into the wee hours after a hamburger supper at New Harmony Baptist Church. At Christmas we laugh as the crowds visiting Santa Land block the exit to my parent's house, and watch the lights from afar. I look forward to the day when my children can volunteer like I did with the Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program at Fun Forrest Pool, teaching life skills to younger children and learning valuable lessons themselves. My husband is looking forward to the day he takes them to fish at the Lake Hawkins spillway...but I'm a touch nervous about making memories there. As a child we spent a day swimming there only to find out that an 8 foot alligator was caught after we left! Maybe we will compromise with camping at Tyler State Park.
So for now, we will value our visits, enjoy the benefits of living were we do, but dream of the day were we live in an area that has lakes, trees, and space but is an easy drive to science museums, city parks, and the people we value most.
