Duhr-ty

Soil. Stones. Leaves. Twigs and branches, wood. Metal scraps. And everything on the ground (except for some animal shit).

But maybe if there's ant shit on the ground, then let's include that in the list.

These and more.

I have given my unico hijo the liberty to get to know the dirt outside the four corners of our room. But not without supervision, of course. I know that time will come when he would want to explore the world outside and when that time comes, screaming "dirty!" at the top of your voice or giving any of the wisest explanation wouldn't be any helpful. Because a curious toddler is a persistent toddler (and a boy at that!). He just wouldn't be satisfied with anything other than trying and learning things on his own. I reckon that the sooner I start introducing Matt to the colors of the earth, the better. Before time takes its course.

So now, I have adjusted his bathing time, which he used to take an hour or two after waking up (an arrangement we made then, to allow enough time for Nanay and me to get ready for work), to some later time in the morning and right after "playing" outside.

These past few mornings, I found myself playing ball and getting my son oriented with the bronzes, browns, grays and blacks and more colors other than the whites. To end the activity, I find it effective to have a pail of water waiting for us, for Matt to play with and at the same instant, to wash his hands with. This is a hassle-free way of getting a toddler clean, a perfect mask for an intention to clean-up without the possible "fight" between a protesting toddler and an insistent parent.

And my son doesn't just like it. He looooves it! He kicks with anticipation the moment he hears me say "let's play outside" that I am beginning to think that he may just be waiting for me to say these magic words as soon as he wakes up. He cannot say his excitement straight out but the look on his face and his hurried steps are more than enough to say their piece. And the very instant his feet hit the ground, he merrily runs around (and almost non-stop). He sits and looks at the ground, his face mirrors one of concentration and then he touches and picks up bits and pieces of all sorts. And he gleefully yells (maybe to announce his find). His squeals of delight are music in the early morning.

So in the coming days, expect to see more of us outside.