Having It All

 This is my kids' world.  It's small and it's a big as the outdoors.  There are no sidewalks.  There are no shopping malls.   When I am too tied up to drive them to play dates, they are each others' play date.Like many kids these days, they have too many toys, but until recently when Thing1 began nurturing his inner nerd (with full encouragement from me), that swing set and the woods behind it were their primary domain.They played alone.  They played with friends.  They found rusting old stoves and cars being buried by the forest.  They create forts and founded kingdoms.They don't have ATVs or cell phones.  Their clothes are always dirty, and they couldn't tell you what brand of sneakers they wear.  But when they get back from an afternoon rambling through their world, the flushed smiles reassure us that even they know that they do have all that matters.