Bridging the Gap

I didn't really think of this at the time. It is the English major in me. Over the past week we've lost a lot of the friendship we've always enjoyed with our kids. Begin sick for some time and too tired to really play, our poor kids have been boxed up for a week without any real opportunity to get all of their energy out. Finally, today, we felt well and had energy. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a walk, climbed some hills, had a sword fight inside, and built a bridge of cushions to run across and wrestle on. To be honest, I still had to talk myself into playing around so much at first, but it was pretty easy after that. It's still amazing to me how much can be communicated between adults and their children through playing. When we were sick, all we could do was talk and watch TV. It was clear, though, that the kids didn't feel like their needs were really met. When we play, however, they light back up and we always feel closer. Maybe English is still their second language, and playing is their first. Maybe it's the same for adults too, we're just out of practice in playing and over-practiced in speaking.