We were dawdling the afternoon away at my sister's house last Saturday since Fred was too tired out to join his work mates for cable-skiing at East Coast. The sheer sound of 'cable-skiing' was laborious. Since we were going to hang around, I requested for a cup of coffee from my Daddy for a mid-day pick-me-up. Oh, my daddy - I miss all the pampering from him now that we are living apart ;P
As the afternoon crawled slowly ahead, there was a little bustle going on in the living area. Fred had joined Ash on her TV spot on the carpet, but not for TV. The two of them huddled over a small pile of coins strewn on the carpet. The poodle-money bank had been pulled apart to reveal its contents. Some one dollar, fifty, twenty, ten and five cent coins.
Fred had decided to inject educational meaning into their play and I was invited to be judge - who would be the first to collect the coins equivalent to a specific amount that I had the liberty to announce. As the competition proceeded, it became apparent that Fred had to 'slow down' his moves as Ash very earnestly searched and totalled up the coins into the amounts I had asked for. She did very well with her math ;) When I grew weary after a few rounds and announced this was to be the last and the winner would emerge, hence it was to be a difficult one, Ash gently protested and said then she couldn't win! Ha, children love the excitement of competing but they also know the whole idea in competition is to win. That speaks volumes of a child's motivation and sense of self-efficacy - I want to win and I can win!
So a simple, uneventful afternoon was turned into a meaningful engagement with a 6 year old, who is simply adorable and a delightful company ;) Who says life is boring? And who says staying home has to be boring? The ability to find little pleasures in everyday routine living is adaptive and contributes to 'meaningfulness' in life. Afterall, life is made up of all those little things we usually take for granted ;) I say cheers to life!
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