Cooking Day Undone

The sky was so blue I could feel it.
The sun was so bright I could smell it.
The air was so crisp I could taste it.

So when we got home from our Explorer's Club meeting, I gave the kids each a thick slab of Three Cheese and Onion Bread and banished them from the house, "You must stay outside for at least one hour.  I will call you in when the baby is asleep and it is time for our cooking lesson."

I hated to call them in.  But I knew they would hate me if I skipped our cooking day.  So I went out to them.

They were building a log cabin out of the pieces of felled trees Daddy collects for our cousins' wood-burning stove.

"No!  It can't be time to come in!" they groaned.

"We don't have to cook everything on our list.  And we can certainly cook another day.  If you want to keep building, you're welcome to stay out here.  I'll call you in when we really get down to the wire, and  you can help make the treat."

"Okay!" they agreed.

I feel as if our best days are consistently the days that I let go of what I have planned and allow the kids to pursue the joys of their hearts.

But I also feel as if we have some excellent days because of the plans I make.

I guess living the good life is about balance.

Knowing my kids spent 4 hours out in that blue, bright, crisp, perfect day using their hands to work and their minds to create fills me with joy.

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