Yesterday, the manager had to bring his daughter to work. He set her up with a giant piece of paper and markers so she could draw. As expected, she did this for a little while before she started to get bored. I put her in the conference room next to her dad’s office. The walls are glass so she could see into the office and wouldn’t feel isolated.
We pulled up on-line games so she could play. She also had her portable dvd player with an array of movies she could watch. Again, she was entertained for a while but got restless from time to time. Everyone in the office took turns hanging out with her and enjoyed her company.
I took her outside to get a little fresh air and to burn off some energy. At her suggestion, we repeatedly raced, fell down in the grass and even did somersaults. (I was so happy that I can still do a somersault!) She also did cart wheels. Those I didn’t have the courage to attempt! We layed in the grass and laughed and laughed.
It was great to run around with no shoes on, fall down and to lay in the grass and laugh. I experienced a level of joy that I hadn’t felt in a long time. It took a 5-year-old to help remind me to just enjoy myself. Children will always help us to remember the greatest pleasure in life – play!
When it was time for her to go home, she ran over and hugged me and said “The bestest time I had today was when I got to go running around outside!”
Thanks Arianna, it was my bestest time too and I promise myself that I am going to do it more often!
