No Running Allowed!

I am a rules kind of girl. I always have been. In school, I was such a good girl that I was the one the teacher chose to write down names when she was gone. I actually liked the responsibility. I listen to what teachers, parents and my elders say. Like most women, as I've grown older, I am less about rules and more about just living my life.

Today, I drank a cup of tea and watched my boys play at the mall. My boys loved it. They were stuck going bathing suit shopping without a stroller so it was a terribly long afternoon for them (believe it or not, it went well. I couldn't believe it. It's all about expectations). So, after shopping, they deserved fifteen minutes to run around and have fun. As I am sipping my tea, I hear a grandma tell her grandchildren not to run in the play area. Not to run? The kids were having a ball. They were chasing each other and diving in and out of the equipment. We were the only people there. The grandma kept looking at me for some back-up. I wasn't saying a word.

Last week, we were at an outdoor playground. I swear I heard a mom tell her child to not yell. Where else is it more appropriate for yelling than a playground? The child was just having fun. It wasn't an emergency sort of yell. It was just a child screaming for his friends.

Like I said, I am sort of a rules kind of girl. My kids hear "Go down the slide, not up" a million times a month. We wear seat belts and use car seats. We floss. We walk, not run, at the pool. We drive near the speed limit. We wait our turn in line. We say please and thank you. We are a rules kind of family. But at playgrounds, I am sorry. I will not hover. I won't ask my kiddos to be quiet. My kids will run and play. They might even yell. And I will just sit and drink my tea.