I love hypothetical situations: they allow me to proclaim with confidence what I’d do in a given situation when in reality, I haven’t a clue.
Take parenting. Before I had kids, I was an expert on motherhood. As a hypothetical parent, I’d observe and critique, vowing that I’d never plop my kids in front of a TV for the length of time it’d take a moderately fit person to run a marathon.
The company, Mabel’s Labels, has a contest asking one of these fascinating hypothetical questions: what would you post on your blog if the internet was experiencing an epic fail, possibly permanently? It’s like famous-last-words for those obsessed with blogging.
Here, then, are my final words which, for once, are not ironic.
Go outside.
Walk barefoot in dewey grass.
Swing.
Dance like you own your whole body.
Giggle.
Make snow angels.
Sing.
Deliver cookies to a neighbour.
Listen.
Stay for a cup of tea.
Smile.
Lie in a sunbeam.
Cuddle.
Picnic in your backyard.
Somersault.
Follow a leaf blowing in the wind.
Breathe.
It’s a bit of a poet’s shopping list for the Carpe Diem Supermarket. But in all seriousness, these are the things I love more than blogging, more than teaching, more than writing. These are the games of children, and if I can settle myself in the moment, which ironically is what blogging does for me, then time ceases to matter.
Perhaps parenting, hypothetical or not, is more about adults becoming childlike than children growing into adults.
Now excuse me, while I go unplug.
Leanne Shirtliffe is the mother of seven-year-old twins, Thing 1 and Thing 2. She lived in Asia for eight years, which turned out to be a build-your-own-family adventure. Leanne writes for Nickelodeon and pens a humour column for The Calgary Herald. She is represented by Jill Marr of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency in California. 
I agree. I feel like a slave to the screen. A slave to the box. Today I let the cherry blossoms rule the day. And it felt good. Very good.
beautifully said. I’ll shop in your CD Supermarket anyday..
Wow, very much what I needed to read this week.
Beautiful and actually gave me shivers.
Very nice, Iroic mom
As a side note….I was an AMAZING mother…before I had children!
Love this! A great reminder, too. Its so easy to get sucked into The Internets and miss out on these way more awesome things…
Hey congrats on being a finalist and for being so UN-ironic
!
Congrats on being a Mabel’s Labels BlogHer finalist! Way to go. We’re all cheering for you.
Lovely. Hard to pick a favorite from the list, but love the idea “lie in a sunbeam.” Reminds me that maybe my cat is a little smarter than I am.
This is really, really lovely. I can see why you were chosen as a finalist.
Also, now I know what I’m going to do tomorrow. It’s time for a picnic in our backyard.