Absorbed in Play

Mr. TOF wasted no time telling his older siblings goodbye this morning as they boarded the bus for school (it was a few degrees warmer than the previous 2 days . . . the thermometer read -20, and the windchill was only -37 when the middles left for the bus stop).  After two short days of reprieve last week when everyone else was off to school, he spent four days cooped up with everyone.  This morning he relished in the fact that he had me, and anything he wanted to play with, all to himself.  We started the morning with a stack of picture books, and then he pretended I was a horse while I was horizontal on the couch.  When we went to the basement to do some laundry he had the bright idea of bringing up some toys, and then he spent the morning absorbed in play.  Mr. Trouble on Feet is not a kid who usually enjoys playing by himself, so it was fun to watch him set things up the way he wanted and then talk and talk to himself, completely absorbed in what he was doing.  He’s ready for his siblings to come home this afternoon, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little break!