Monday 20 May 2013

May long

Oh, what a glorious weekend that was enjoyed by this little family of five!  With more time spent outside than in, whether it be in the garden or at the park with friends, it was a refreshing, easy weekend.

Our neighbourhood hosts a week-long arts festival that kicks off on Victoria Day with an afternoon picnic filled with entertainment and activities from those literally just learning to walk to those well into their golden years.  It's a day for costumes and face-paint, running and playing, drawing and crafting, drumming and dancing.  We've been coming to this festival for many years now, and we've had so many wonderful experiences.

This year, my girls and their father walked in the parade with their butterfly wings (from Sarah's Silks) and noisemakers.  We ate our packed lunch in the sunshine, then each slowly wandered off to the activity that caught their eye.  At an easy, steady, no-need-to-rush pace, they explored their creative side with sidewalk drawing, parachute games, a comic jam (where each artist's work is published in a commemorative book), hula hoops, do-it-yourself face-painting, paper airplanes, and a drumming circle.

Over and above all the creative goodness of the day, I also saw my children making their way towards independence...where they felt safe to be at a further distance from my husband and I (and we felt they were safe as well).  They were mature enough to tell us where they would be so we could find them if needed.  I also noticed that the circle of people we know who attend the festival has gotten larger every year we've attended.  It seems a lot easier to let those little ones fly further away, knowing that there are other people there who know them and will take care of them (and that we trust) if we aren't there immediately.





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