While it's easy for an adult to succumb to monotony, I never cease to be surprised when my kids struggle with that very concept. Who would thought that a four-year-old and a two-year-old would occasionally get tired of doing the same activities and eventually want a change of pace? Also, what I forget now and then is that said change of pace doesn't have to be anything big. Sometimes, it's as simple as playing in someone else's backyard with someone else's toys while petting someone else's dogs.
Now, if anyone reading this wants to call the police to report trespassing or something of that ilk, please don't. I promise that I had full permission to break and enter. Is it breaking and entering if you use the person's garage code? Also, I should probably note that my permission came from the person house-sitting instead of the actual homeowners. Wow, there's just a ton of gray areas when you think about it that way, isn't there?
Actually, if I being completely honest, I'm 99% certain the homeowners knew about my presence and were good with it. I was actually going over there each day last week and today to exercise their two dogs while the house-sitter was at work. Also, the family that owns the house are actually good friends of ours. That being said, I feel like the original narrative of breaking and entering was just so much more interesting, don't you?
If I'm being totally honest here, my "service" was almost as much for me as it was them. First of all, I absolutely love playing with dogs so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to play with a six-month-old Australian Shepherd. Her name is Lucy and she has unlimited energy. The second I let her out of her kennel, she sprints to the back door of the house, waiting for me to let her outside. Then, as soon as the door opens, she takes off sprinting back and forth across the yard until she's exerted enough nervous energy to be able to play a game of fetch. Although, the thing about playing fetch with a pup is that going and getting the ball is just part of the game. Once she brings it back, then it's time for tug-of-war until I can finally wrestle it away from her strong jaws and throw it again.
While I was spending about an hour and a half each day playing fetch with Lucy, the kids were entertaining themselves in other ways. The awesome thing about this backyard is that it is a virtual paradise for a young kid. Between the treehouse in one corner, the big swinging rope in another, the "nest" swing and soccer net in the middle of the yard, and the trampoline in another corner, there is no shortage of activities for a kid to do!
While Ellie was only around on both Mondays and Friday, Ethan didn't hurt for things to do. He mostly cycled between three activities. Those activities included petting the other dog, Casey, sitting on a four-wheeler parked under the treehouse and pretending to drive, and jumping on the trampoline. That being said, what really warmed my heart was watching Ethan sprint across the backyard with Lucy running alongside him! I love that my kids are developing big hearts for animals and that they love being around them. Here's hoping those attitudes continue in their lives.
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| Run Ethan, run! |
While we had a great time "breaking and entering" on a daily basis to play with dogs last week, all good things must come to an end. Today our friends returned home from their time away and with that our daily trips to their house end. After all, they might find it slightly uncomfortable if we continue using their garage door code to enter their house whenever we want even though they're home. I know that would make me uncomfortable. #DaddyWrite
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