Get Thee Outdoors

I was having a hard time with Maeve yesterday. She was just up my nose in the worst way, and I think I was doing the same to her. So I remembered one of my parenting edicts, borne of much misery, and almost guaranteed to succeed: take the child OUTSIDE.

This used to work even when she was a baby; something about going outside somehow resets the attitude of the child as well as the parent. It's got the same affect as taking a walk does for an adult, it somehow clears your head and gets you outside of yourself for a little.

Anyway, I took the child on a huge walk yesterday, and she brought a purse full of Winnie-the-Pooh characters, because that's how we roll as of lately. We also brought a leash along with us just in case, because there are two dogs missing in our neighborhoods right now and we want to help, if we can.

We didn't run into any stray dogs, but there was defininte log-climbing, rock-scrambling, big-stick poking, and train spotting. Good stuff.

So that's my Friday parenting tip: before setting the child out on the porch for the circus to take, get the child and yourself outside, if you can. You'll feel better.