The Simple Things

by Sarah Huth

A few weeks ago, we surprised our kids by taking them to a large children’s event (event name withheld to protect the innocent) a couple hours from our home.  We booked a hotel for the night prior and the event was the following morning.  After a long night of the kids waking multiple times, we groggily made our way down to the complimentary breakfast the hotel offered.  The room was filled with kids of all ages, and their parents had the same bleary look that my husband and I had.  As I waited in line for 10 minutes to make my son a waffle that he didn’t eat, it was then that I began to wonder what it was all for.

I thought about it again as we waited for a half hour in a line of cars leading into the parking lot for the event.  I looked into the faces of the people in the cars beside us, all stuffed full of kids in different stages of meltdown.  As I glanced over at the other parents, I felt like we could communicate without saying a word.  What did we get ourselves into?

After we paid our $10 to park, we finally got inside the convention center.  A very boisterous woman welcomed us: “Welcome!  Absolutely NO food or drink!”  I’ll admit it: I became annoyed.  At an event obviously tailored to small children, food and drink was a necessity.  Harried parents left to take the long walk back to their cars to return the food they carried in.  We were assured that there was food for purchase at the event – all with a price tag, of course.

After we returned our snacks to our car, we finally snaked our way into the entrance and the fun was about to begin.  All we saw ahead were waves of people and children in various levels of wildness.  My husband said “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”  Indeed.

We ended up having a nice time, and the kids enjoyed it.  But, you know what they enjoyed more?  Jumping in piles of leaves when we returned home…free of charge and no transportation needed.  I am beginning to learn, after 6 years of parenting, that it really is the simple things.  I often try to come up with grand events for my kids to attend, to see their faces light up with joy.  Sometimes, the result is frustration and exhaustion and not so much fun.  Don’t get me wrong – this is not always the case, but more often than not, my kids find pure joy in things closer to home…often inside our own home.  When Daddy flies the kids around the house in the “airplane” laundry basket, or when we turn on the music and dance in the living room – this to our kids, is pure joy…and yes, to mom and dad too.

How do you live simply with your kids?