Taking the time to see things through a child's eyes

Keithen went back to school today after his 3 week break. The girls and I went to the chiropractor so Kaylee and I could get adjusted. We were running a bit early and they were also kind of busy so we had to wait a bit. We went to our table and the girls were occupying themselves with the Polly Pocket dolls that they had brought along in a small backpack.

It didn't take long for that game to get boring. I was afraid they were about to start running back and forth down the aisle between the tables to play in front of the fan and being disruptive. That was when I had what I can only describe as a moment of genius.

I called Ruby over and straddled the table, facing the head support and told her we were on a horse. The next thing I knew, our imaginations had taken over. We were all three riding a horse, petting a horse, brushing and bathing the horse and feeding it snacks. We pretended to close the door on the stable so our horse couldn't get away.

They were so well behaved and quiet from that point on. All it took was a moment for me to see the world through their eyes and to find a way to turn our wait into an engaging opportunity to play.