As a preschool educator, I would like to suggest two new developmental stages.
The Stage of Why.
The Stage of “Actually”
1. The Stage of Why. My 3-year-old grandson is solidly in this stage, as evidenced by lengthy ‘why’ infested conversations during our daily commutes. Today, after being unable to even count HOW MANY whys were tossed willy-nilly towards me from the back seat, I turned the tables and rephrased his questions into ‘whys’ for him. To which he replied with the actual answers to some of my lobs.
Why? Why? Why? I love answering questions and explaining things we see and do (teacher!), but sometimes, I may be close to my limit of whys. Gage is on the verge of being out of this stage, but since we are taking a pit stop in the WHY questioning period, my game of counting whys and popping the questions back to him might just keep me sane.
2. The Stage of Actually. This word, used correctly in context by the younger preschool crowd, cracks me up. It usually shows up when preschoolers are able to grasp the abstractness of this word and how they’ve heard others use it. AND they can get out that many syllables, be understood, and make sense. Actually has been visiting this 3-year-old and his conversations. Waiting for the 2-year-old to pick up on it.
Preschoolers. They ROCK. Life is enriched with their preschool-ness.
What other new developmental stages would you like to add?
Nature abounding in the woods and along mountain tops strips away the stresses of the modern world, the work world, the life-filled with garbage. In the woods, I find home. I imagine places I could build shelter or a cozy cabin and projects for harvested pinecones and rocks. I dreamily discover that perfect rock chair so I can just simply sit and listen to the burble of a small stream or the wind whipping through canyons and treetops.
I relax. The fragrances of wilderness, fir trees, clean dirt, evergreens, mountain breezes. They cleanse noise-city-dirty air-vehicle polluted senses and engage my entire sensory system.
My imagination runs wild at times, inspired by pencil-thin bouncing hooves of deer and bunny-tail rumps disappearing under shrubs. What was that noise? Is a bear nibbling berries on the other side of this patch? Will mosquitoes or wasps or ticks invade my body? Is a hungry cougar lounging over the trail, ready to pounce? Should I perhaps be thinking about how I would survive if I became lost? Is the birdsong loud and joyous or absent and ominous?
I am at home. I feel free to dream and imagine and just be. I drink deeply of the mountain air, listen intently to the sounds of God’s creation at its most pure.
It’s been too long without my woodsy home. To the mountains, to the woods, I must return.
Thanks to seeds from a friend (Hi, friend!), magic unfolded in my night garden last night!
Moonflower seeds. I will admit I was accepting defeat at the beginning of the growth cycle. Never have I seen a plant grow SO SLLOOWWWW. Chances of actual blooms appeared nonexistent. Then came the heat. The smoke. The long summer days.
And poof! Cigar-shaped flower pods grew amidst the large leaves. BTW, the stems are out-of-this-world interesting to look at and touch. Once the flowers began to poke from the covering, they transformed into green taquitos.
Then came lavender-edged swirls.
which burst open into extravagant balloons!
Old-fashioned rose fragrance, glow-in-the-dark coloring, large, inviting. I wanted to stay awake all night to see which nocturnal pollinators took the bait and visited the deep blossoms.
Marvelous Monday indeed. What wonderful flowers inspire you? Do you know of any other night flowers? I hear moonflowers are perennials plus they offer abundant seeds. Moonflowers, anyone?
This is significant because for most of my growing up years (1st-9th grade) my family lived in Arizona. It’s pretty difficult to find a beach (ocean, salt water) within the borders of this southwestern state. Not that I’m complaining! I loved the desert years.
(Heh, heh. Still live in a desert. Just one that is located in eastern Washington.)
I started going to the beach after I met my future husband, Kevin. His family always vacationed at the beach. Specifically Ocean Shores, Washington. Sure they traveled up and down that portion of the Pacific Ocean coastline, but the majority of beach time was spent right there.
Lucky me! I was invited to traipse along on summer vacations. It was a little cozy in the Prowler camp trailer, barely 6 inches of space above my nose. A little tight, a little close.
Fast forward a few years, and the new Quantrell family continued the tradition by hauling both babies to the Washington beaches surrounding Ocean Shores. They went as babies, toddlers, preschoolers, children, teens, and adults. We’ve taken along dogs, relatives, friends, family, bicycles, toys, fireworks, s’mores; you name it, it was probably in our truck, camper, or tent.
This photo shows the four of us enjoying the beach via beach grasses and dunes. Some of my favorite memories and experiences happened at the beach.
I can’t wait to go back with my grands. They need to experience MY beaches!
Where is your favorite childhood vacation location?
Love, Laughter, and Life 