The house is a mess, there is jelly everywhere from a six-year-old’s failed attempt at lunch, handprints mark my walls and dirt muddies my carpet.

The to-do list is here somewhere, reminding me of all the chores yet to be done: the laundry, the dishes, the bills that need sorting and groceries that need buying.

But I decided I am quitting for the day: quitting being a responsible adult, quitting for the moment being a multi-tasking mother and worker. Today is a day where chores, responsibility and worry are out the window; today we focus on fun and reconnecting.

We packed up our car, the kids and me. To the woods we went. We saw animals and flowers. We hiked among the blue bonnets and ate lunch with the deer. We got sweaty and stinky in the mud and swam in the springs.

We picked berries and crushed some to make our very own jelly.

We arrived home, and we created art. It was messy and loud and fun. We had a paint fight, all of us covered in paint, grinning from ear to ear.

We shut off the world, and watched the stars with lemonade and cookies.

My chores are still there, laundry is still dirty, and I’m pretty sure the mud is now part of the carpet, but for today letting go was what I needed and what the kids needed. We left the stress of work, internet and the phone far behind.

We focused on each other, on nature, on fun. By quitting for a day, I found myself energized, and focused for the days ahead.

I think we all should quit for a day.

Relephant:

The Family that Plays Together Stays Together.

~

Author: Michele Genzardi

Assistant Editor: Rebecca Lynch; Editor: Caroline Beaton

Photo: Flickr/Don DeBold