A Different Kind of Day

Spencer and friend enjoy creating a marble run with new wooden blocks.  Thanks, Nana!

Today was a different kind of day.  Spencer and his friend stayed up late last night drawing pictures and building wooden marble runs.  As a result, they were a little less energetic than usual today.  This worked out fine since we did a lot of car riding.  We packed up the big car and picked up two more friends for a trip to Fernbank.  It was a pleasant afternoon for the seven of us as we learned about Genghis Khan, played with science experiments, and looked at exhibits.

A few years ago, I would have spent quite a bit of time teaching the boys about Genghis Khan prior to the exhibit.  Feeling it was my duty to educate them, I would have directed their attention to certain aspects of the exhibit and maybe even asked them questions on the ride home.  There was a time when the boys would have put up with this.  Those times are over.  I think that's for the best. 

Perhaps it's inevitable that when we become parents we want to give our children the things we never had.  We may do this even if our children don't want those things!  Although I had a wonderful childhood with loving, attentive parents, I did not visit museums, study history, or travel much.  I often still feel I am playing "catch up" in trying to learn about geography, history, art, and literature. . . Thus, my desire to open the boys' world to all the fascinating stories from history.

Today was different because I didn't indulge in teaching.  I fought back my urge to shout, "Hey, Come back here and look at this!"  Today the boys ambled through the exhibits without my lurking over their shoulders or trying to point out anything "important."  It helped that I had another mom to spend time with who allowed her son the same freedom.  The five boys walked, talked, and laughed together.  We all enjoyed looking at the swords, the catapults, the ballista, the yurt, the statue of Genghis Khan, the clothing styles of the mongol tribes.  The boys probably learned something; though it's hard to know what. 

I've decided the most important thing I can teach my children is that museums are fun.  Museums are interesting, and unlike in school, you can look at whatever you like for as long (or as little) as you like and then go home.  Such an attitude makes it nice for everyone-- including me!

We had a nice lunch and enjoyed the gift shop.  The boys enjoyed one another's company.  I had a good time.  We enjoyed our friends and then we went home.  Tonight we'll bake cookies and watch a movie.  It's been a good day.