My connection to play

"the center of gravity is outside the child" John Dewey
"It is hard, although not impossible, to reawaken the spirit of play in an adolescent or an adult through story telling, the arts and othr means of they did not experience play in childhood." Joan Alman
People who supported my play when I was a child are two people still in my life today my mom and grandma.  At my grandma house there was a box in the linen closet that had some of her old clothes and my grandpa too and my brother and I would play for hours with these few things.  We would be railroad workers, passengers, waitresses cooks and what ever else we could come up with from what was in the box.  At home I plenty of dolls and Barbies and all the thing a girl could want for pretend play.  I even had a few cats that would let me dress them and treat them like babies.  Again play was allowed for great length but when it was time to eat or do our chores they needed to be done at that time, no warnings were ever given to us. 
Play today is different when my daughters were younger I would not let them freely roam the neighborhood, like I did as a child.   And if they did or do go to a friends house I have to meet the parents and see the house.   Most play that I see is still from the child imagination with some TV or video games thrown like"pause the game" from when they pause their video games.
I use play to relax, even in my work day I will build Lego's with the boys sometimes they want to do what I do so I start to show them and they often times will take  over my project.  But play is the fun things I do, read, draw, go to craft fairs, sometimes it is even cooking.     

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because they are one part of who I am.  Each of my family and friends brings out a different part of me, some the serious side others the funny or the crafty or better yet the knowledgeable and/or the caring side.  But each friend and family member has those same characteristic within themselves.  I would no trade my friends or family member for anything.
What is amazing in this time of technology is finding old friends and reconnecting with them and rebuild a long domante relationship.
My mom, my husband and my daughter are the closest and most positive relationships I have.  My mom who has been there through everything in my life and is my second biggest cheerleader I have. Yet I have been there for her when times have been rough.  One story that comes to mind is the birth of my first daughter and the possibility of have a C-section, she was there through the whole birth and let me know I could do this.  Then the favor was returned, if you want to call it that way,  when a few years ago she drove herself to the hospital and the doctors half way through the day started to talk about emergency surgery. With a call to me I was there by her side waiting on test results to see what was to happen next. The doctor said no surgery this time but to go home take her meds like she is suppose to and call her regular doctor Monday morning. 
My husband is my biggest cheerleader he let me know that what I want to do to better myself is ok and that he will pick up the slack as needed.  I work at this relationship the most because he is the one who will be with me forever. I make sure he know that I love him with all my heart and soul. I trust in the decision he makes even if he does not consult me first, he has done this in the past with  wonderful results.
My relationship with my daughters is two fold. Yes! I am their mother and let them know that but we also talk about things, school, friends and dreams.My oldest daughter has moved into a new  role of being a wife so I let her know that what she does is not ok at times and that she now needs to think about her husband before make major decisions.
Challanges would be overlooking the small flaw we each have.  Sometimes I forget that my friends and family are human and that what I expect out of each of them may not be what they see I need or get.  Other times I forget that no one is a mind reader and I need to speak up if I want or need something.
We are listener and thinker first then react or set in to motion a plan.  
This works well for me as a preschool teacher because I listen first then repeat back what I hear and the help with a solution if one is needed. Also for me most of the time I can leave my personal stuff at the door so I am there for the children and their parent if need be.