Last Sunday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
In spite of a very nice morning at church, a bad spirit seemed to hang over our house. Todd had gone to France AGAIN without me, and grouchiness reigned with just me and my boys. Hormones were reeling, feet were stomping, voices were yelling, doors were slamming. And that was just me!
"We need to get out of the house," said my eleven year old.
"Why?" I asked him, clinging to my crossword puzzle.
My eleven year old gave me a look. As if I didn't know why.
"I've got an idea," he said. "But it might seem kind of babyish."
I put down the crossword. The child never wants to look babyish. We must do whatever he says.
We did it, and it turned our beast of a day into sunshine! Into happiness!
I thought you might like to hear about it, and then maybe you can share what you do to break a bad mood. Maybe I could even put together a file of your ideas, for the next time Todd leaves me for France.
So what did we do? We went on a mouse hunt on Main Street in downtown Greenville.
Are you acquainted with Goodnight Moon? It's a children’s picture book about a rabbit getting ready for bed, and there's a mouse hidden in each scene. A young man in our town thought it might be fun to take this idea and make a scavenger hunt for kids on Main Street. He raised the funding and commissioned Zan Wells, a local sculptor, to make the individual mice. You can read more about his project here.
So we headed downtown and got started.
With all the grumpiness, we hadn't noticed that it really was a gorgeous day.
Sam had printed off the sheet of clues, and away we went.
Here's mouse #1!
They were tricky to find.
They could be anywhere. Down low...
Or up high.
Do you see it?
Take a closer look.
And here's the last one.
At the feet of General Greene.
He's quite the patriotic mouse, as you can see.
At the end of the hunt, we enjoyed some hot cocoa at the real treasure of Greenville, Falls Park. Fresh air and chocolate--the sure way to recapture the goodness of a day.
So how do you do it? What do you do when a dark mood sets in?
Have a great Wednesday, y'all!
Love, Becky
PS. Enjoy a walk around downtown Greenville!
12 comments:
I would love to go on a treasure hunt for mice! Sounds like a lot of fun.
I wanna go! Do you think Sam would escort his Mama Judy on this fun trip? Sounds like fun!
What fun! Your son is wise to understand you needed some whimsy and a change of scenery to blast out of the funk.
Trish and Mama Judy, come on down. The mice are waiting.
GG, yes my son is wise. He also knew that I might wring his (and his brother's) neck if we didn't leave home for a while. He suggested it for self preservation as well as for me! :)
WHat a wonderful treat. Such perfect inpiration for a walk. I hope your son never loses that sense of joy in the small things. And it does not sound babyish AT ALL! THank you for sharing.
What a brilliant child you have!!! Unless it's pooring rain, the outdoors always help to brighten spirits!
That would be poUring! :-)
What a great way to spend he day. Mood switchers rule. I like to walk the dogs with my iPod blaring or sing with my daughter. Can you tell music helps me?
Hi Becky,
I'm so glad I made time to blog visit today. What a wonderful idea Sam had. It looks like you had a lot of fun and a change is always good.
I'm moving to your town-it looks charming!
Maybe we could start an online petition for Todd to take you to France the next time.
big hugs,
Barb
What a smart young man…and to think he is only eleven.
I sat mesmerized by this whole post. “Goodnight Moon” is a family favorite; I would say it has been
read about a thousand times. What a fantastic senior project, if I am ever in Greenville I will make sure
I go on this hunt.
Louise
This sounds like so much fun. My sisters and I would love it. What a wonderful memory this will be in years to come. He's a pretty smart kid.
What an intelligent and good-hearted boy you have. An excellent idea, that was exactly what was needed.
Good job, Mom!
:-)
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