The Scarecrow's Lesson

If you're a regular around here, you know that each season I make a little bucket list for the boys and I, and then I diligently work to cross each and every item off of it.  Well, this fall, I have had a hard time getting the stuff done.  Don't get me wrong: the boys and I have been doing fun stuff, but it hasn't really been seasonal (trips to the park, playdates, etc).
As we started this week, I was determined to cross a few things off our fall list.  And figured building a scarecrow was something we could easily accomplish, considering we had all the supplies on hand.  So once Colton got home from school Monday, I asked him  if he wanted to build a scarecrow.  The answer was surprisingly a very enthusiastic "yes!" (must be all those scarecrows in his school hallway!), so we set about gathering a scarecrow outfit, some other supplies, and my camera (of course!).
We headed outside to begin collecting leaves to fill our scarecrow with, and at first both boys were really into it (ok, Levi really just liked putting them in his mouth..like EVERYTHING else...but still).

And Colton was having a blast stuffing the scarecrow's clothes with his leaves

But the novelty quickly wore off.  Levi was much more interested in crawling around the yard, and Colton wanted to chase Chipper, or go down his slide, or play some hoop ball.  For a few minutes, I tried to persuade them to finish up the scarecrow....and when that proved to be a waste of time, I even spent a couple minutes attempting to finish it myself.  

But then I paused...and I looked around at my boys...and this is what I saw...

Pure joy.  And excitement.  And discovery (Levi even learned how to crawl backwards down the stairs to get down, a trick I really hope he keeps up!)

You see the thing is we have spent plenty an afternoon out back playing, but when we do so, I sometimes feel guilty that I'm not doing something more significant with the boys.  But on that afternoon, I realized that they don't need something bigger or organized or seasonal...they just need play...and each other...and me (with my trusty camera!).

And as a bonus, even though our scarecrow may pathetically look like this:

Both boys seemed to think he was pretty cool!  Colton even named him "mama" (hopefully there's not some resemblance I'm missing) and spent some time playing with him.

So thanks scarecrow for a great day...and a great lesson!