I hear people say all the time that kids don't know how to enjoy a simple day of fun outside anymore. Here's a well known fact....kids follow by example.
If he was allowed to do so, Jackson would probably sit on the couch with an Ipad and the television on for hours. He loves Cabela's Deer Hunter and Angry Birds. Currently, his favorite show is "Yardens" (better known as North Woods Law) and the movie of the month is Brother Bear. It bothers me to see little kids sitting motionless in front of any device for an extended period of time. And yes, we are all guilty of this. Myself very much included!
Some of my fondest memories as a kid are of family sledding nights. My mom and dad would take old milk jugs, cut a hole in the back, and place votive candles inside. Both sides of our driveway were then lined with homemade luminaries. The weight of the snow and ice made the birch trees bow down, forming a perfect arch that extended the entire length of the driveway. That little bit of light turned a cold dark night into a winter wonderland. We would race each other and often times take a minute at the end to lay down and look up at the stars. Our fun was always followed with hot cocoa or warm tomato soup and grilled cheeses on homemade bread from Helen's Restaurant. Talk about a magical memory!!! My little brother and I were very blessed to grow up with fun parents.
It's so easy to say, "Go outside and play! Why can't you be content with being outside? Where is your imagination?"
Show them!!! Lead by example. A snow angel, a snowman, ice cream making, fort building, sledding, snowshoeing, ice skating, snow flake observing, skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, hiking...the list could go on! Show them fun things to do outside and use YOUR imagination. Seeing your excitement and your imagination will give them a push to be passionate about the moment, simply because YOU are. Excitement is so contagious, especially to children!
Trust me, I need this reminder just as much as the next person. Winter to me encourages lots of lounging around, eating delicious things, reading on the couch and just not wanting to move. It has been three weeks today since we last visited civilization...so it is VERY necessary to at least leave the house to play and get some fresh air.
- Realty Road
Hi! Sorry if you get this comment twice. Last night I typed one on my iphone at 3 AM with a baby in my arms and it disappeared. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for writing this blog! My husband is a warden in northern Wisconsin; we live outside of a town of about 500 people. He is wanted to relocate to an even more remote area in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I love reading about all these stories, if you can do it I can do it! =) Cassie
ReplyDeleteYou CAN do it, too, Cassie! AND, where are you in Wisconsin? My daughter went to school out there for a year in Cable....so we are sort of familiar with northern WI. It is a beautiful area, much like Maine!
DeleteHi Jolene, we are about an hour north of Green Bay in the Crivitz area. Both Tim and I went to Northland College in Ashland, about 30 minutes north of Cable. In college we used to hike/ski/snowshoe the Cable area, we miss it there and Lake Superior reminds the both of us of Maine, also. Although I can only say I've been to the Bar Harbor and Acadia area once!
DeleteAhhh, Wisconsin, I miss it! I used to live in Duluth, and spent a summer working just east of Eagle River. Such a lovely area. I have to say, I'm drawn to the remote areas of the UP as well, if only finding employment (for two) were easier.
DeleteHi Cassie!!!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand the foggy feeling at 3 a.m. My youngest has eye teeth coming in so I am up several nights a week. :) It is so good to hear from other Warden wives....this made my day! I think we forget that we are spread all over the country! Good luck to you and your family on your "maybe" move! If my husband had it his way...we would stay remote for a loooooong time.
I hope you have a great day and a great night full of sleep! :)
Rianne
Tim is actually at his second police academy 8 hours away in Michigan right now, he is originally from Detroit so he always wanted to move back to Michigan. He's been with Wisconsin for the past three years, but he has to do ANOTHER 22 week academy with Michigan, to all if our dismay. We have a 6 week old baby girl that just got out of the NICU, and he hasn't seen her for 4 weeks now! So its tough on all of us, as you can imagine... I stumbled upon your blog the other night because I just wanted to read from other police/warden wives who can relate! Tim and I watch Northwoods Law, but he said he would HATE it if he was on the show because of all the other wardens and policemen who watch it and would nitpick and have an opinion about everything you did!
DeleteWow....how many weeks total does that make for training that he's done so far???? That is a long time! Evan did a total of 30 weeks last year and I was pregnant for a lot of it and with a new born for the rest of it! Even though we got to see him on the weekends, I definitely felt like he missed the first couple of months of Andrew's life! I definitely feel your pain there but sorry you have had to deal with added stress of the NICU. Glad that your baby is home now! Ya, Evan isn't a super social person and usually stepped to the side when the cameras were on but we were able to catch a couple of glimpses of him on last season and our three year old was ECSTATIC. It's one thing to have your Daddy be your hero but to see him on TV with all the other "Yardens"???? He was in heaven. We've been watching Wild Justice too....similar to NWL but in California.
ReplyDeleteYes! We watch Wild Justice too but there is so much pot eradication it gets kind of old. Everything is so dramatized with the music and cuts to commercials, etc., but it's fun that people are becoming more aware of what game wardens are. I'm sick of: "What does your husband do?" "He's a game warden." "Oh like in a jail." "No, for the DNR." "What's the DNR?"...It goes on forever. Or you get the grumpy old men that are all "The damn DNR!" Anyway, he did his Wisconsin academy in 2012, that was a 16 week academy and 4 8-week FTOs around the state, so it was a total of about 11-12 months (ridiculously long). Along with that was like 5 or 6 one-week long trainings (fur school, boat school, hunting accident school) around the state. He JUST got off probation and decided he wants to move back to Michigan at the same time I found out I was pregnant, and Michigan's academy is 22-weeks and is more brutal and militaristic than WI's.Then he has 3 6-week FTOs around the station he will be assigned, so this time he should be off FTO by deer season (holy week around here). *HUGE EYE ROLL*.
ReplyDelete