I don’t know if I’ve ever written about life in the sandbox before, but after supper on Father’s Day the sandbox is where I found myself enjoying time with my grandsons Lucas and Graham. As Oprah might say, it was an “aha moment” for me.
The memories of my childhood sandbox are nothing but good. Part of the sand there was contained by a big tractor tire while the rest of it flowed around a tree that held our swing. I would use the flat side of a hoe to make smooth roads in the sand that I would drive my toy cars on. Sometimes I would mix sand and water to make mud, forming it into the shape of donuts and then I would sprinkle dry sand on the top for decoration. When my cousins came over to play in the summertime, the sandbox is where we spent a lot of our time. My cousin Brian was probably the easiest person to play in the sandbox with because we liked different cars and we never fought over wanting the same one.
I made sure that my own children experienced life in the sandbox and although Lynn and Makaila enjoyed their times there, Darrell was the one who was most like me…he was the stereotypical boy with cars and trucks and tractors to play with out there.
Tonight was a lesson for me. While Graham was happy to sift sand through his hand and move toys around, and while Lucas pretended lots of things that involved sand castles, deep holes and finding treasures, I realized that my cares drifted away and I enjoyed life for the moment that I was in. It was the best Father’s Day present ever!
Won’t Gail be surprised when she comes home to find half of the back yard turned into a giant sandbox! And Cousin Brian…you’ll be the first person I invite over to play in it!
