The Mother Report

I found myself referring to the weather report as the "mother report" last night. It slipped across my lips by accident and then I realized that my mixed up phrase was spot on. If the weather is warm and sunny and my children can play outside, it is a "good mother day". If the weather is cold and dreary, it is a "bad mother day". A good mother day means that there will be less bickering, less indoor wrestling that goes wrong and more cooperative play. A bad mother day is of course the opposite. We have an almost four year old and a five year old boy in our home and they really were not built for the indoors. In studying their design closely (which I have had to do as a mother that did not have a brother to grow up with), boys seem to need to conquer worlds, move quickly and find personal challenges on a regular basis. Yes, the wooden blocks sometimes allow for a new kingdom to be created, or the small plastic army men allow for a battle to be played out, but on the whole, these things happen much more easily outside. The makers of x-box and wii are very well aware of this; they are trying to create an indoor adventure, a challenge without fresh air. I know I am prone to thinking to fondly of "life on the farm", pre-industrial revolution days. (Wendell Berry is a favorite author and I always said I would have done well if I had been born in prarie days.) But little boys really do need to repair fences, and feed animals and exhaust themselves in meaningful work. I see this every time they rig together leftover pieces of rope to create a new swing off the playset. Or last week, when I found them trying to ride the bicycles into the ditch very quickly to fall into the leaves. And every day there is a race, a challenge of speed or distance. Perhaps one day all these little adventures and challenges will allow them to be ready for something bigger and even more awe inspiring. Until then, I will keep checking my mother report, wishing for good weather and big adventures.