Simon says: read.

I'm really not sure why it works this way, but I swear I only feel inspired to blog when I have other things I should be doing. I posted three times the other night when I had a bunch of things to be studying for. And now that I have nothing to study for, I have absolutely no topic on my mind to blog about. It's been a couple of days since my last post and I almost feel guilty for not posting. But I swear that every time I sit down to write something, it just seems like complete trash. And to top it off, my artistic flow was definitely quelled by some unnecessary (and very public) criticism. I embarrass easily (as you'd know if you read my previous posts) and the feeling often puts a damper on my ability to create.

So I'm going to do my best to share with you what I've tried unsuccessfully to blog a few times now.

On Friday I spent some time with my family from Missouri. I was so proud of myself. I actually played with children and enjoyed myself. At first it was a little difficult figuring out which of the kids wanted to be "it" and which didn't. Some of them would get upset if they didn't get a chance to be "it" and some of them got upset if they had to be "it". The solution to this: pick a different game. 

Me playing "duck, duck, goose" with the kids.

We ended up playing Simon says, which was a lot of fun. But soon after we started, we were called inside by the grown ups because it was getting dark.

I swear that some children can speak and converse with people as if they were adults. Seven year old Brayton, the boy who I had just named "goose" in the photo above, talked to me about college with as much incite and interest as I would expect from someone close to my own age. He asked me about living at college and if I liked it and if I came home very often. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed talking to Brayton so much is because children are such good listeners. When an adult asks me how school is going, it feels like a courtesy question. Almost like routine. But Brayton seemed genuinely interested in the answers I was giving. It was so refreshing talking to someone who doesn't already know the answer to the question they are asking. I don't fault adults who ask these questions, but it was just so much less awkward talking to Brayton because he seemed so enthralled with everything I was telling him.

I joke around a lot saying that I don't like children but I have to say that I honestly felt a connection to kids while I was playing in the yard with them. Brayton asked me right before he and the others left our house if I could visit them in Missouri soon and I was being completely honest when I said that I hoped I could.