My Supports

When I think about the supports in my life that I need and utilize on a daily basis they would be my family, my mobility and my phone. My family will always be the most important aspect of my life and just so happens to be the biggest support of my life as well.

My husband Joshua, is incredibly supportive in everything I do (even when he knows I'm wrong). Recently, I lost my job due to a loss of funding. The loss of a second income into our household was extremely stressful on myself, but my husband refused to let me completely breakdown. He told me to take some time to be at home and look for something that is going to make me happy instead of rushing to find something that I would not be happy with at all. Without the support of my husband I don't know what I would do, he always knows what I need and the right things to say. If I did not have the support of my husband I know that my life would be much more stressful and I am unsure that I would emotionally be stable without the support he provides me. My children also provide me daily support because they are so loving and encouraging. My children give the best hugs and when they see that I am upset or starting to get frustrated they give me one of those hugs and tell me "I know you can do it". Without their amazing hugs and love my life would not be complete, I honestly don't know what I would do without my children in my life.

My ability to walk, run, stand and move around is an important support in my daily life. I am a wife and mother of four children if I did not have my ability to move around freely (and quickly, I might add) I would not be able to keep up with my children and support them in ways that they need. Without my mobility I would find ways to support my children and physically be there for them but this would be a very difficult task and would change multiple aspects of my life and their lives including the environment we live in and the luxuries we currently have.

I know this may sound cheesy, but my phone is honestly one of the supports in my daily life that I depend on. I use my phone to stay in contact with my family and friends. My oldest daughter calls me everyday after school to let me know when she is on her way home. My husband calls me during the day to let me know if something happened at work delaying him or if we need to communicate with each other about anything else. I also keep in touch with extended family with my phone. If I did not have my phone I would find ways to keep in touch with my family and friends but these other routes would not provide me with the instant access that my phone provides me. I can be anywhere and pick up my phone or answer my phone to get in contact with any member of my family in an instant. 

My Connections to Play

These two quotes represent what play was to me as child growing up and still represent my ideas of play as the adult that I am. I believe that play comes from curiosity and from that curiosity comes imagination and exploration, which is why I chose the first quote. I can just imagine myself as a young child discovering something and poking at it with a stick and then coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas as to what the unidentified object was. I chose the second quote as a representation of play because I agree with it wholeheartedly. Play should be something that occurs everyday when you are a child and when you are an adult. When I was a child I could not wait to be done with school so that I could go home and play and even now as an adult I still cannot wait to get home from work so that I can play with my children.

These three items were essential play items to me as a child growing up. I grew up with four siblings, in the middle of nowhere (35 minute drive to the city) so our days were spent riding around on our bikes exploring everything that southern Arizona had to offer us. We had 5 acres of land at our home but our parents allowed us to ride our bicycles down to the watering hole and back (about 1.5 miles) and on those bike rides my siblings and I would imagine adventures and storylines of monsters, bad guys, good guys, superheros and more. Then when the sun went down and it was time to go inside, my sisters and I had a huge collection of Barbie dolls that we would play with together, my brother even joined in sometimes (one boy and four girls poor guy). These things were essential to my play growing up. 

How is play different now and my hopes for young today...

Play today is different from play when I was growing up because parenting has changed and technological advancements have taken over. When I was a child my parents would let us roam the streets (in my case desert backroads) all day and simply expect us home at sunset for dinner (we would even drink from the water hose instead of go inside). However, parenting styles have changed and parents are more strict on the activities their children do, places they go and time they are allowed to be outside. Technology has also played a huge role in the change of play because now children are more into playing video games or on the tablets/computers instead of going outside and playing. Technology has also taken away some of the imagination and critical thinking needed for play. For example when I was a child we played with Barbie dolls and we imagined jobs for them, families, homes and took them on adventures; where now the computer of video game does half the work for you. 

I know that the way I parent my children is very different from the way I was parented. However, I try to encourage my children to be more active outdoors and away from the technology and to also use their creativity and imaginations to play. I know that having to create worlds and stories as a child really helped my critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity skills as an adult, and I want my children to also be able to develop these skills through play. I hope that parents realize the importance of play for their children and encourage them to get off the couch and out of the desk and go play with peers, siblings or independently. Play embraces all areas of development and is essential to children's growth and success and it is my hope that all children have the opportunities to play every single day.