The Fun House

I've been thinking...

...about the role of parents in a family,

the way we are an umbrella for our children,

socialization (the big "S" word for homeschoolers...but c'mon, in almost every situation, the "how are you going to socialize your kids?" argument against homeschooling is so outdated as to be slightly ridiculous),

our desire to protect our children from the "junk" that is so prevalent in society,

our even stronger desire to prepare our children to live in and be a light in that society,

the foolishness of youth (especially when they have slumber parties), 

and the like.

You know, light frivolous thoughts.

Or not.

Each of those topics deserves its own post; but it's against the backdrop of those thoughts, that I've been remembering the wise advice to make your home the house that all the neighborhood kids want to come to...and how you should invite your kids' friends over to your house so that you not only get to know your kids' friends and see how they interact with your children, but you can also create great memories for them and pour out love on them, some of whom may not receive as much as they should in their own homes.  I've heard the sages say, "Be the cool parents--NOT in the sense of getting rid of all boundaries for your kids and their friends and letting them do whatever they want, but in the way of being involved with your children and their friends, genuinely having fun with them, opening your home to them, giving them a warm welcome and a truly interested listening ear, etc."  

When I read back over that, I think to myself, "That really applies more in the teen years, and my oldest child is only eight!"

True.  But those are the kinds of things I've been thinking about, and all of that flashed through my mind today when a new item showed up at our house.

It had four legs...

...a Rhino insignia...

...two, in fact (which reminded me so much of our good friends Aldo & Maggie in California, because Aldo's favorite animal is a rhino).

It looked like this on its top.

Here's a much more helpful clue.

Did you figure it out yet?  

Of course!  It's an air hockey table!

Air hockey just happens to be my favorite game of this sort (much preferred by me to pool or ping-pong or foosball), but we weren't planning to buy it and hadn't talked about it or anything--not even a single conversation, like "wouldn't it be nice if we had air hockey?"  Nothing.  But Jeff happened to spot a note on Facebook from an acquaintance who was moving and needed to sell their air hockey table.   He contacted them; and lo and behold, this showed up today, making some boys--and their mommy--very happy indeed.

Even Tobin got into it...

...though he needed a little help from his biggest brother.  :)

When Josiah and David played together, they were a formidable foe, especially when David had a mallet in each hand and was in charge of defense, and Josiah could use his longer arms on offense.  I played against them--and beat them--but it wasn't easy.  ;-)

It also wasn't easy to beat Jeff.  That's precisely why I DIDN'T beat him.  But I will.  One of these days.  If Jeff comes home from work tomorrow and there's no supper on the table and the house is a wreck and he wonders what's going on, I'll just say, "Oh, you know, I've been busy.  Busy practicing air hockey, that is.  Want a rematch?"  ;-)

I'm immensely grateful for Jeff showing us his love in this way.  To me, this air hockey table represents so much:  obviously, the memories that will be made as we play together as a family, the laughter we'll share around it, the opportunities for teaching good sportsmanship and sharing, the hours that the boys will be happily occupied with this game as they interact together and even get a little exercise.  But even more, it means something deeper to me.  It means that our home is a fun place to be.  It's the kind of home I'd like to grow up in.  Oh, wait, I DID grow up in this home.  ;-)   (For newer blog readers, I'll mention that when we moved back from Israel, my parents sold us this house and moved into a smaller house on the property, so I am now living in the house in which I was raised.)

My fervent hope is that, as my sons become adults and leave our nest, they'll be forever bonded--to Jeff and I, to each other, and to God.  Maybe, just maybe, the memories of time spent together around this air hockey table will be part of the strong cement that keeps our hearts together.

********

So I was thinking these thoughts...and I had pulled out the camera to take pictures of the air hockey table...and then I kept walking and snapping pictures, trying to capture the quiet beauty and joy of this ordinary-yet-wonderful day.

With temperatures in the low 80s...

it was a glorious day to be outside.  Josiah and David and I had taken a little trip to an abundantly-stocked and well-run greenhouse near us, and we returned with a variety of lovely plants...

 ...including marigolds.  For the first time, the boys each have a little section of the garden for their own; and after surveying the choices at the greenhouse, David declared that he wanted to plant marigolds.

So we got some.  He might branch out and include more than just marigolds; but if not, that's fine, too.  His daddy's got it covered, as far as planting other things.  :)

 While I was watching Jeff plant lettuce and broccoli, I was also admiring the neighbor's newly-cut field.

 I mean, look at those rows!   One thing is for sure, when we lived in Southern California and then in Israel, I YEARNED for such fresh, open, green, living beauty out my windows.  And now we have it in abundance.  What a gift!

I checked on the peas, and they're looking quite fine, thank you.  It appears that I'll actually get to shell some this year--oh, joy!  (That is not sarcastic, by the way.)  :)

 My tulips, although stuck in a flowerbed so weedy that it doesn't even seem like a flowerbed, still dazzle with their beautiful spring colors.

 I had never paid much attention to our English walnut trees in early blossom, but I did today, and this is what I found.  Isn't that strange-looking?!  And to think that I had never noticed it.

Jeff did some tilling...

 ...while barefoot...

...in preparation for more planting.  Planting what, you ask?  

 Potatoes, expertly cut by these hands...

 ...hands that I love...

 ...hands that taught me how to cut towards myself, into my thumb, without causing any damage.

 Whose hands?  Well, I call her Mother...

...but this little sweetheart calls her Grandma.  Can you tell how much they love each other?

Ah, so many pictures.  So much delight.  So many memories stored up for the future.  And I didn't even mention all the other things that made this day so nearly perfect:  things like two great violin lessons for Josiah (a private lesson and a group one), my dad's first-ever game of air hockey (I beat him), the two Lego sets that Josiah and David were able to buy with their own money (helped along by Grandma Fisher who kindly sent David some birthday money), the delicious taquitos that Jeff made for our dinner, Tobin's new haircut and his excitement about his breakfast out with his daddy, a new spring tablecloth (which, even though it's plastic, elicited an excited "I really like this tablecloth!" comment from Josiah when he saw it spread on the table), Shav's giggles when he was trying to run away from me after his bath and I was chasing him on my hands and knees, the satisfaction of all the dishes being washed, a little time spent organizing school supplies and planning for next year...

Today was the kind of day that I'd like to bottle up to store for the future.

I guess that's what I just did.

Before my head hits the pillow tonight, I'll breathe an extra prayer of gratitude to God:  for my fun house, my fun family, and this very, very fun day.