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Go Fly A Kite!
By Julia Rosien
When was the last time you did something just for the fun of it? I don't mean spending half this month's mortgage payment on midway tickets and standing in line long enough to watch your oldest emerge from puberty for a five-minute ride. And I don't mean spending six hours in a car and setting up a tent in the rain while children snap at your heels. I mean something that didn't cost anything.
The wind picked up as I cleared the dinner dishes off the table last night. I rested my hands on my hips as I stared at the remains of our spaghetti dinner. My curtains billowed in the breeze as I watched my brood playing ball in the yard. I looked at my dishes whispering nasty secrets and cursing my inactivity. I ignored them. Instead, I gathered my dirty barefoot tribe of four told them my idea. After donning sandals, we trekked to the park down the street. I sat on the grass putting together kites as my natives danced in front of me.
"Mom, can I fly the pink one?" asked Alexander, whose favorite color is pink.
"I want the big one, Mom!" announced my 10-year-old, Nelson, who hasn't yet learned the concept of taking turns.
Simon and Grace, my preschoolers, played with the packages, throwing them up in the air and trying to make them fly while I fumbled and struggled with the strings.
I watched a mother down the field yelling at her children. The wind carried her harsh words across to my own children's ears. They turned to watch her scolding her children for tangling the strings in "only five minutes." Didn't they understand the meaning of the word "no?" We all watched as she stalked away, her children following sullenly behind her. I sighed, knowing exactly how it felt to hear those dishes screaming from the sink while trying to enjoy "quality" time with the children.