We played in the snow yesterday. I didn’t have the heart to tell the boys that it doesn’t snow in Atlanta. They are going to be devastated.
We only got about an inch, but it’s the perfect amount for a game we played. The game is simple. It’s called “Look at these footprints.” Or maybe “Hey Daddy, look at these footprints.” “Daddy, Daddy, look at these footprints.” Over and over and over again, all the way to the mailbox.
First it was just stomping and jumping but then it got more creative with walking on toes or heels, walking sideways, crawling, rolling over, butt-scooching, sliding, etc. Their creativity blew me away.
It was also fun to watch them play off each other. Charlie would think of something new, like making “footprints” with his head, and then Jack would immediately do the same thing.
We left quite a set of footprints in the snow.
My children are very different from each other. Jack was much more careful and controlled with his footprints, methodical with his creativity. Charlie reimagined the canvas immediately, thinking way outside the box with each new turn, unafraid to get dirty or wet.
On the way back home, Jack started to write names in the snow with his feet. First he wrote his name, then he wrote Charlie’s name, then he wrote “William Raveis,” copying it from the For Sale sign in our front yard. It broke my heart a little bit when he wrote Sam’s name, and then his friends’ Ray and Jake.
More than a few times I wish I had my phone on me to take pictures of the footprints, but I had purposely left it at home so that I could just live my life. It is ridiculous how addicted I am to my phone, how naked I feel without it. Weekends shouldn’t be about obsessing over every new vibration in my pocket, staying on top of emails, and sharing every single thing I do. Sometimes it’s better to just live my life and enjoy the present moment, without being so concerned with checking in, updating my status, tweeting every funny thought that comes into my head.
I would be much better off if I actually lived by this, and put my phone away during off hours. At night, I should turn it off instead of checking it compulsively every time I wake up. Our brains aren’t wired to check our mobile devices every few seconds. However, they are wired to stay alert for danger. Those are 2 different things but I think our brains assume they are the same. So we compulsively check our phones, thinking it will keep us alive.
On the other hand, I wish I had pictures of some of the uniquely brilliant footprints that my children made in the snow yesterday. I guess I’ll just have to cherish the memory without any photographic evidence. Maybe it’s better that way?