Kids have changed…Written By Curt + Rach ThompsonThere’s just something about having a clean, tidy house. I love coming home from a vacation to a cleared off table, nicely swept floor, counter tops with everything put away, and only clean dishes in the dishwasher. Truly, I love it! There’s a sense of peace and a weight off my shoulders of mundane tasks needing done. Letting the house be messy at times and learning to let go of orderly has not been easy for me. I prefer things in their place, everything clean, and systems that work. But I also love watching my kids play in the mud hole, learn to do a backflip on the trampoline, catch a pop fly for the 1000th time… and so I’ve had to learn to let go of tidy (at times) and be present in the moment. I hear it a lot - “Kids have changed” - but I respectfully disagree with this broad statement. You see, in my opinion, it’s the expectations of kids that have changed. In the picture attached to this blog post - my three boys are at a local ball field, where they had just played catch with their dad for an hour for fun, then as we were going back to the car, they decided to look for “Indian beads” - small rocks with grooves and holes in them. Some may claim that’s “immature for their ages” which are 12 & 7 while I believe it’s completely age appropriate. Children need the freedom to have fun, get dirty, explore, have mud between their toes, and live life with an imagination. The last few days we have had a lot of rain in our area. When we get several inches in a short amount of time, then our creek in front of our house runs swiftly and is deeper than usual. After church, the boys ran out there to have different toys, small logs, and wiffle balls float down stream. They were shin high in water, laughing, competing, and enjoying life. I think some of the expectations of kids these days is to act older than their age. I think some adults discourage children from having an imagination. I think less time is allowed for young people to be outside and explore. I think instagram worthy homes are more of priority than lived in houses. With all my “I thinks” …is that a word ha ha… there’s a lot of “I’m guiltys”. I’m guilty of wanting my 7 year old to act the age of his older brothers. I’m guilty of choosing no mess over letting imaginations run wild with legos scattered everywhere. I’m guilty of not wanting the boys to get muddy because I know that equals more laundry. I’m guilty of wanting cute, calm areas but realize I live with loud and rowdy. It’s so important for us all to remember to let kids be kids. Often times I say, “Too big too fast”, when referring to my kiddos. It’s so true. They grow up in a blink of an eye. A familiar phrase shared with parents is “don’t blink.” Yes, the days can be long but the years fly by. Each summer, I hear how we have 18 sweet summers with our children - make sure to make the most of each. I agree!! That doesn’t have to mean fancy trips, big prizes, or over the top pool parties. It can mean going out and catching the fireflies in a mason jar, planting the garden, picking the flowers along the side of the road, swimming in the pool, setting up a tarp and soap for a good ole slip and slide…it means spend time with your littles because before you know it they’ll be bigs. Times have changed. Technology has evolved.Activities have been added. but kids… well kids haven’t changed. Living a life set apart, RachQuote: Kids spell love T.I.M.E. Scripture: Psalm 127:3Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.