Just Hangin' Round

As you might recall, Brian built a play fort in our backyard last summer. Our fort has been one of the greatest things ever! I can't even begin to count the number of hours that the children have played on it. Not only does the fort serve as a hideout from those "bad guys" that roam the earth, but it also has served as a prairie wagon, a submarine, a shack for orphan children to live in, a spy hideout, and the list goes on. This summer the fort was expanded as a slide was added to the front lower level. This addition turned the fort into "Hayden Waterpark"! JUST ADD WATER Brian set up the sprinkler to spray on the slide and then some plastic was added to the bottom of the slide for a homespun version of a "Slip N Slide". Needless to say, they got very wet and had LOTS of fun! (Did you know you can get grass stains on your skin?)
Last summer as the fort was built Titus was really too small to enjoy any of the fort. So most of the things I mentioned have been enjoyed by the three older children. This summer, Titus joined the ranks of being one of "the kids". Whether he really understands the games their playing or not, he sort of tags along and is there with them. Sometimes they let him be the dog or the baby, but usually he just climbs up and down and "hangs around", literally. He will go out and spend at least an hour watching the children run around, yelling at them, "singing", and hanging on the sides of the fort. At first, as the mommy in me does, I thought "oh no! He's going to fall!"(as a mother of 5, this thought probably only crossed my mind once), but then the mommy part of me that says "eh, he'll be all right" kicked in and I haven't really worried about it since. He hangs there and swings around. It looks dangerous. I should be concerned. He should be careful. Okay, what's the definition of "careful"? Simply put, it means "full of care". After watching him, I'm sure that he is full of all the care that a two year old can muster. (When I had just two children, I would've had a mind to be concerned, to worry more, to be cautious, to be careful. Now, after having five children my mind is gone or rather its gone on to other things! ) A few times, we've had people over to our home and as they've seen him do that, I've seen them look concerned or mention what he's doing with great concern in their voice. I calmly explain the normality of what he's doing and just leave it at that. I've really come to enjoy watching him hang there, swinging those little legs. I wish I knew if he thinks he's doing something daring -- a thrill seeker? or is he just doing it for the fun of it? It's become one of those things that needed to be photographed for future memories and story telling. It has taken me months of trying to get something beyond blurs of activity pictures. Finally, I have something worth keeping and sharing.