Yesterday, the weather was beautiful. I had some things to mail, so we walked to the post office. Given how little we've walked the last few months, I wasn't sure how Kiddo would do, but in fact she did great. Apparently getting older and bigger outweighed lack of walking (and goodness knows she runs and dances plenty around the house). About five minutes before we got back home, she screamed about something because she likes to make a lot of noise. She understands the power of a joyful yawp, and let loose.
Immediately, I said her name in a "pay attention" tone. But before I could tell her not to scream I remembered, I always tell her we don't scream in the house. We're not in the house. So I explained to her that we were outside, and isn't it great that we can make as much noise as we want?
She made a joyful noise the rest of the way home. She'd scream for a second or two, then wait, and do it again. We turned on the next road, and she kept up the yelling. Then a group of three elementary students started coming towards us. They too understood the joy of a good scream, and they screamed back. Then she screamed, then they screamed, and on, and on, and on.
It didn't stop until they went in the house they were visiting (poor lady who opened the door to three happy children in mid-cry). Kiddo kept it up a little longer. I'm so glad I listened to my better mother nature, the one that says "childhood is fun - let it be."
