Come and Play

As a new parent you are often told to forget about the laundry or the dishes and play with your kids. "Time goes by so fast. The nights may be long, but the days are short. Before you know it ...."

A million platitudes exist to remind you that the dishes can wait - your kids can't.

And I agree it is one of the major conflicts of parenthood (granted, there are hundreds of conflicts). You want to get on the floor and play blocks, look at picture books, play Legos or Star Wars or Barbies or tea party, but it can be ... boring.

And personally, at times, it can be confusing. A five-year-old's imagination is much more vivid than a mine (sometimes I think my dog's imagination is more vivid than mine).  I often play Barbies with Abby and I have to admit that I can have trouble following her "Barbie triplets marrying the royal brothers with alien dogs serving as flower girls" scenarios. According to Abby I often "don't do it right." Many times I would rather watch a few minutes of TV or surf the Internet or water the flowers or empty the dishwasher or sit on the porch with a glass of wine.

But you know what?

One day they stop asking.