One Giant Sandbox
The Arches National Park, to my kids, is basically one ongoing sandbox.
Every 10 feet (if that) they wanted to stop and play in the sand.
And so we let them.
Well, sometimes we told them to wait just so it didn’t take us 40 minutes to get somewhere that should have taken 5, but mostly we let them.
At the Landscape Arch, the kids instantly jumped in the sand on the side of the trail and were having the time of their lives.
Justin went ahead to see further down the trail and I stayed behind to keep an eye on the kiddos.
I was sitting about 10 feet away from them and loved hearing the comments made by people as they went by.
One guy joked to his friend, “I want to be that unbothered by the sand!” (Me too buddy, me too!)
Most commented on how much fun it looked like they were having or wished me good luck with the showers later on. One or two were a little grossed out that we’d let the kids play in the sand, but honestly, I just rolled my eyes at those. You do you, boo.
But one couple caught my attention and what they said has stuck with me.
They joked with me about the kids playing in the sand and how much fun it looked like they were having. I agreed with them and laughed at how they were enjoying the park, sand pit by sand pit.
They kept walking, but I overheard them say to each other as they went,
“They have the right perspective.”
“They sure do.”
I wasn’t sure who they were talking about, the kiddos or us the parents.
Many parents wouldn’t let their kids play in the sand. I heard many a mom telling their kids to keep their shoes on and not to lie in the sand.
The poor kids were begging their moms to let them play, but the kids didn’t win.
I’m not saying this to judge or act like I’m a better parent. We all parent differently and most of the time, I question if I’m doing any of it right or if I’m royally messing up my kids. In fairness, I think I’m doing okay, but definitely far from perfect. None of us are. And those moms saying no to their kids probably had perfectly good reasons.
But the comment about having the right perspective stuck with me because I can see why the comment would apply to the kids – they find joy in the little and simple things. They are enjoying the park their way. A little pile of sand, and they are the happiest creatures on earth. Their imaginations go wild and they start creating or playing pretend. The arches, they’re beautiful, but they see the beauty at their feet that us adults find super annoying. What we can’t wait to get rid of and shower off, they find utter delight in. Wouldn’t it be great if us adults could have that kind of perspective on most things in life?
And if the comment was about us parents, it feels like a huge compliment. Which feels weird to share because it feels like I’m bragging, but I know so many of us struggle with parenting that if someone does give us a compliment, shouldn’t we take it to heart? We take the criticisms to heart, don’t we?
So this is how I see it as a compliment to me and Justin’s parenting. We intuitively want to see the “big stuff”, all the arches that are possible to see in a day. Let’s go! But we want more for our kids to enjoy the park as well and nurture in them a love of the outdoors and nature. If we made them hike until they were exhausted, why would they ever want to go with us again? The sand makes them happy, and that in turn makes us happy. So if that means going slower and not seeing as much, so be it. We’ll see what we can and push them where we need to, but we don’t have to rush.
Will we miss seeing some of the big ticket items? Yes, but what is our priority?
Will our camper have sand in it? Sure.
Can we vacuum that up? Of course.
Can we shower the sand out of their hair? Most of it.
Them playing in the sand makes us slow down and enjoy the moment. We are in a stunning setting and we are all getting to enjoy the park in our own unique ways. It’s like Justin and Aubyn climbing to the top of all the boulders they can and me sitting in the shade leaning against that boulder resting from all the chasing around. To each their own.
But we let our kids play and be kids and maybe that’s the most important perspective of all. They won’t be kids long and soon enough, they won’t want to play in the sand. They won’t want to go on hikes with us. So for now, we’ll let them play and we’ll watch in awe as they do so. And we’ll be ready with the showers when we get back to the camper.
