Come and See!!
By Kay on Thu, Nov 15, 2007
Today we were outside playing the in the back yard because it’s FINALLY dipped below 80 degrees here in Houston! Finally, fall weather!! But, I digress…
We were having a blast sliding on the slides, playing pirates, feeding the dog sticks (yes, she was actually eating them – weird, huh?), and pretending to fish. After a while, Kate wandered over to the deck to sit on the porch swing. She came running back over to me saying, “Mommy! Come and see!! There’s ants on the swing! Come and see!!!”
Being the incredible (but tired) mom that I am, I said, “I know, honey. I don’t have to come and see… I know.” (There’s almost always a few rogue ants or spiders travelling on some part of the swing at any given time. I mean, Hello! It is an outdoor swing! 
)
But some part of my tired brain started gnawing on that statement. “I know. I don’t have to come and see… I know.”
That’s when it hit me. It didn’t matter that I already knew that there were ants travelling across the top of the swing. She wanted me to see the ants. Not so that I would know that they were there, but so that she could share the experience with me.
How many times have I missed out on sharing an experience with my kids, missed an opportunity to see something through their eyes because it was something that I already knew; something that I have already experienced?
So, I got up off my tired butt and went over to the swing to experience the ants (shudder) with my excited 4 year old. She ‘helped’ me remove the ants by handing me a stick so that I could move the ants to another location. (double shudder – I have a thing about ants, can you tell?) It’s probably not a memory that she’ll hold dear for the rest of her life and look back on with fondness in her old age, but at least I know that I shared it with her. And maybe next time she wants me to ‘share an experience’ I’ll remember this day and be a little more obliging. Even if it is ants…
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November 17th, 2007 at 9:24 am
I read several articles online about using ant barriers to keep ants away, like away from your swing or your children’s play area. You can use Baby Powder, Cinnamon, Eucalypus oil, Petroleum jelly, Dryer sheets, tea leaves and Coffee grounds. Although, I am not sure how you would put the petrolem jelly or dryer sheets around your swing, the other items could be very effective. The coffee grounds and the tea leaves are good for your soil, too.
By the way, your kiddos could help you with this project, too. That would be a fun thing to do together.
Love yall, Mimi