Let children be children...

My mom and two nieces came for a visit this past weekend. My two nieces are sisters and they are 25 years old and almost 4 years old. I thoroughly enjoyed having them, but not so sure my mom enjoyed her visit. She always wants us to come to her house, but it is almost always obvious that after a couple of hours, she is over us being there, especially if we have the grandkids with us. That is how it was this weekend while she was here. She was glad to be here for a little while, but she was way over it by early Saturday afternoon, and probably would have gone home, if it had not been raining. I am of the opinion you let children be children, and NOT stay on them about every little thing. My house is kid friendly. I have a sandbox, shovels, bubbles, chalk, and numerous other toys for them to play with, inside and out. Did they put sand in the fountain? Yes. Did it bother me? No. Did it bother others? WAY more than it should have. The sand does not hurt the fountain at all, and I am the only one that EVER cleans it out, so why should this bother anyone else, especially if it is entertaining the kids? I don't get it. I let them write on the deck and fence with chalk. No big deal to me since I knew when the rain came a couple of hours later, it would all wash away, and it did. Others were bothered by this WAY more than they should have been. Also, when the rain came, I let them write on the garage floor with chalk. It mops up people!!! NO BIG DEAL!!!!! Let kids be kids. Were they wired? Yes. They were excited about having someone to play with, other than their mother and G on this rainy weekend, and I was excited for them. BK needed a nap, but didn't get it because she is like her mother.... always afraid she is going to miss something. Daughter laid down with her, and after 20 minutes, BK whispered to her mother, "I am not sleepy." She was sleepy, but she was not giving it up, so Daughter let her up. By the time 8:00 rolled around, my little niece was racked out on the sofa. BT was asleep on the air mattress he so loves to sleep on, and BK, of course, was still going strong. I finally turned everything off at 9:30 and told her to go to sleep, and she was asleep instantly. It was like she knew there was not going to be anything to miss for the rest of the night and she finally gave it up.

All kids are different. My little niece is a tad shy, even around family, and has a really sweet spirit. BT is not shy around family, but is shy around others. He is a sweet, thoughtful, sensitive kid, but he does get a little rowdy at times, and that is ok. He is 5. His sister, BK is completely different. She is demanding, but she is also extremely funny, and always wants "just one more," She wants what she wants, when she wants it, and she is always up for a challenge. She is 2 1/2. They are only kids once, and I believe we should embrace and enjoy it. They grow up too fast. I want to soak them up while I can. I wish everyone else would do the same.