I don’t usually write a whole lot on the blog as I like to let the images tell their own stories without my interference. The images I make are my voice and there is nothing greater than when that voice is heard loud and clear!
But, today, I am feeling a little bit mushy and a little bit sentimental so I thought…”why the hell not?”
This past year has been riddled with change and growth not only for MCP but for me and my family. One of the biggest changes for me and my children was our move to gorgeous Mattapoisett. When I grew up, we lived in a very small neighborhood in the middle of nowhere in Stoughton. There were woods to explore, rocks to climb, a lake to swim, fish and ice skate on and a world to explore. We could take off on our bikes and ride for miles (literally) and our parents needn’t worry. When we returned home for lunch, we were filthy and we went right back out to do it all over again until we were beckoned home for dinner.
It’s fair to say that I have extremely fond memories of growing up, the neighbors and the neighborhood. It’s what I always dreamed of having for my own children. Unfortunately, for 20 years, that wasn’t to be in the cards. We spent those many years living in New Bedford. And while New Bedford does have its nice areas and you can find such a neighborhood as what I described there, we were not fortunate enough to live in one of those.
So, when I found the house we now reside in, I was over the moon! It’s just the cutest little house with an extremely large yard (much to my lawn mowing chagrin), a short walk to the beach, conservation land abutting the back yard. Bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels, birds all scamper about and I am in deep love!
My children finally have what I have always wanted for them; freedom to be children. Freedom to explore and discover and be! So with this new found elation, I have found myself asking the question, “why the hell not?”
So many times as parents, we tell our children “stop” or “no” or “don’t do that” and we don’t actually have a good reason as to why! Is it “just because I said so” or perhaps because someone else might think that isn’t a good thing to do? Either way, I started challenging myself to ask why.
When we first moved in to the house, we had bare hardwood floors and not much furniture or other things just yet. My middle son (13) decided that it was cool to “rip stick” in the living room. It was cold outside, so why not? At first I told him no and then I thought to myself….he isn’t hurting himself, he isn’t hurting anyone else, he isn’t hurting the floor or the furniture….so, why the hell not? And I let him and he loved it!
Just the other day, my youngest son (7) was sitting on an office stool that has wheels. He was in the kitchen and pushing off the cabinets with his feet and scooting across the kitchen and back again. Doesn’t that sound like fun?! I almost told him to stop and then again, asked myself, why the hell not? Off he went and he loved it!
And just a few weekends ago (you remember when we actually had summer temperatures?!), I had purchased a Slip n Slide. They boys suffer terribly from chafing with regular bathing suits, so they asked if they could just go in their underwear….and yes, you guessed it, why the hell not?!
So, this has now become my summer challenge to myself and to my children to stop and ask why not? If it’s fun and it doesn’t hurt anyone or cause anyone discomfort…..bring it!! Life is far too short to be taken that seriously!
My middle son, Alex
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