The Importance of Play (A Work in Progress)

It was time to stop what I was doing and be a dad by going outside and playing with my kids.

And I'm glad I did. It is essential to take the time to turn off the TV, the DS, the PSP, the computer, or whatever electronic device it may be, and get outside to play a bit.

This evening, after dinner, in the half hour they had before bedtime, my sons Diego and Jackson accompanied me out to our small backyard, where we played catch and "Monkey in the Middle," made doubly fun by the fact that we were throwing an actual toy monkey, instead of a ball. We ran, we threw, we caught. We dove onto the grass.

More than anything, we laughed. The laughter is so important. Without it, life becomes one mandate after the other. Threats followed by consequences.

So many of my childhood memories involve playing, with my friends, my brother, and my parents. Play was an integral part of my development, just as I know it will be for my own children, as well.