The story of "Skippy and the Spotted Horse"

I always enjoy story-telling with Harlee. We have a lot of fun making up new and exciting adventures with our imaginations. If you have never tried this with your kids, you really should. A child's imagination is so much fun to be a part of. Harlee reminds me of what it's like to be creative and care free, and she helps me forget the daily stress that comes along with being a grown-up.
I asked her to tell me a story last night, and it went something like this.

"One day a little girl was walking down the road. She ran into a man named Skippy riding a horse named Spotted. She was really scared of the big horse and was afraid to talk to Skippy. So she ran away and came to a boat. When she got on the boat a big monster came out and she ran again. She ran all the way home. When she opened the door a ghost was there and scared her one more time. Finally the little girl just decided to play outside with her mommy."

Now I know this story may seem somewhat silly. But after thinking about it I realized my daughter had shared with me a very simple lesson. She told me in one little story what her three main fears were and what makes her feel better. Big animals, monsters, and ghosts scare her and playing with her mommy makes her feel better. When I asked her what the moral of the story was she said "you should play when you get scared." How easy is that? With everything that is going on in the world right now, maybe we should just stop and play. Too many times we get caught up in work, finances, and other stress that takes our focus away from what is truly important. Our family and our happiness.
Take this lesson from my 3 year old and try to apply it to your life. Slow down, think about the fears in your life, and try to spend just one hour a day doing something that makes you happy. For more information on family time visit FamilyTime.com or visit the YMCA for ways to have fun with your family.