Spring is here and to say that my children are restless is an understatement!  They are getting on each others’ nerves, sometimes on purpose as only siblings can, and they have already asked if we could set up the pool.  Mind you, it has mostly been in the 50s.  One minute, my oldest is sitting quietly doing something, and the next he is literally running and hopping around the house.  My other three just follow suit.

      Their behavior reminds me of our woods full of chipmunks that are just waking up and running all over, seemingly unsure of what to do next.  An unfortunate few already forgot we have a cat.  Normally his “hunting” takes so long that I see what he is planning on doing with enough notice for me to prevent him from waiting outside the chipmunk’s home.  (Tell me that’s not a lazy cat!) 

      Yes, my children seem just as disoriented as that.  Even though they are free to go outside to play at just about any time, it doesn’t seem to help.  It’s as if they mirror the season.  One day it’s in the 60s, and two days later it’s nearly freezing. 

      How to deal with it as a parent is where the challenge lies.  Do I try to manage all four of their moods with incentives and distractions? Do I try to reel them in with punishments?  I have been at this long enough to know that my own emotions would only complicate things.  For me to react at all, even when they aren’t being very nice to each other, has never helped and has never changed anything for the better.  They already know how I feel.

      So I “manage” them as I manage during this wild, amazing, unpredictable, beautiful season.  I protect where I need to protect, I prepare when I need to prepare, I restore when I need to restore … and I enjoy every minute.