911, what's the nature of your emergency?
Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.
Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.
Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about how with Clint and I not having any children were still able to enjoy being around children. And although some might not believe that to be true, we really experienced it yesterday. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Yesterday was a little bit different. It was a little bit different because unexpectedly my little nephew named Ripley. Yes, his name is Ripley wound up at my dad's house. So Clint and I went over there to go and visit. This little boy has more energy than any child I have ever seen. He is four years old, a little unruly. He is an only child and I could tell that the energy in the room was starting to take its toll on my dad. After some convincing of Ripley letting me cut his nails because I could not stand the filth that was underneath them. We asked if he wanted to go to the park. We have a park really close to our house. Literally a 2-minute drive.
He agreed. We grabbed a bag of opened pretzels at my dads' to feed to the ducks. Put in the car seat, got him excited and jammed up to go and we headed down to the park. I have never seen how excited a little boy could be just turning the corner and seeing this giant playground. And it wasn't the kind of excitement that he was just holding on to for himself. He saw this playground, started to run turned and looked at us with excitement and eagerly asked us to follow along. So we did. We ran to the playground with him and as I ran with him I stopped for a second as I started to stand on top of these woodchips and I say that because I can't remember the last time that I was standing on woodchips in the center of a playground. And I remembered it just like I was a kid. I remembered the additional cushion underneath those wood chips. I remembered how hot all of the equipment was. Of course nowadays there is no such thing as a metal slide, but on an incredibly hot California day it was still hot. And I just watched as Ripley ran into what seemed like a group of 20 kids and he was so calm. He was so understanding that these were his like people. This was his tribe. He started talking with the other kids. They started talking back with him. He made sure that he touched every single piece of equipment until he decided which one, he liked the most and in full transparency I felt a little out of place.
Clint: And it's really funny to notice this because Ashlie and I when we were surrounding the playground equipment and I don't know if you noticed this or not, but we're watching Ripley he's climbing up, he's sliding down the slides. He's going on all these different things and all these other kids are around us, but we're pretty much the only adults standing there almost helicoptering them to make sure he didn't fall. And I looked around and I see all the other moms and dads are just sitting on the benches further away just enjoying their conversation. But you and I are both just we're set up on each side of the playground just in case he were to fall this way or fall this way. But I just noticed we're paranoid in reference to that and it made me laugh when I recognized that.
Ashlie: Okay. Part 1, it's because he is not our child.
Clint: Yeah that's true.
Ashlie: Part 2, it's also because Ripley has a medical in piedmont. He has some developmental issues with his legs and his toes, and he expressed to us when he needed help and Clint and I made sure we were on either side of this giant playground in case he needed that help, which he asked for several times. I did notice that too. But what I also noticed was the engagement that the other kids were showing to us because we were present. We weren't sitting on the bench checking out our cell phones. We were completely engaged and cognizant of not only Ripley but all of the other kids. The ones that asked us to help boost them up onto the swing set. The ones that asked for an extra push or asked to help push Ripley. And it was actually kind of fun. It was kind of fun to see that engagement and a little humbling to just pay witness to how difficult it must be to be a parent and understand that you need that disconnect time by sitting on a bench checking your feet or whatever it may be and glancing up at your kid. I would imagine that helicopter parenting is something that fades away. I'm sure it would fade away had we done this consistently with Ripley. But he's like a special gem in our life. He's really the only young child that we have immediate access to. In our world especially with the boys that I grew up with, this is the only grandchild that is immediate for us. He's the only grandchild that my dad sees on a routine basis. My dad has other amazing grandkids. I have nieces and nephews. But it's different worth with Ripley because my dad sees him all of the time and my dad has gotten to pay witness to him growing up. And the caveat to that is I have never seen a child look as identical to their parent as my little nephew does to my little brother. And I'm sure that creates some sort of special place in my dad's heart and in that relationship, it just so happened that Ripley came along right after my mom died. It was only months later that Ripley was born after my mom passed away and I think this sort of rebirth helped to solidify that relationship between my dad and Ripley and just enjoying that time yesterday, there was a moment of fear. There was a moment of fear because there was a point when Ripley didn't want to listen, and he took off running so fast that Clint and I were chasing after him and it made me nervous. What if he tripped? What if he hurt himself? What if he got away so far that we couldn't catch him? And I think us not having any children it's important to be able to experience that so that we gain a better understanding of what it's like to be a parent. My little brother was a younger father. He's a single father and I give him so much credit. And as you listen to this if you yourself are a parent, I commend you for everything that you do on a daily basis. I don't think that I have the strength or capacity to be able to do what you do, and I was privileged to be able to taste a piece of that yesterday. This isn't the first time we've done things with Ripley. But it was probably the most extensive time that we've shared time with him.
Clint: Now I would say it was pretty impactful for us as well, just given the day.
Ashlie: Yeah, I think so too. And the further and further along though Clint and I go with our human potential training at the bullet proof institute. We're starting to really realize how important it is to be centered and present in every moment of our life. And I don't think I would have picked up on all of those other nuances if I was just fixated on me. There wasn't a moment when I thought about me. I was thinking about Ripley and watching you interact with him and watching him interact with the other kids and then soaking in the other parents that were around us and their interactions with their kids. I even noticed that very close to the playground there was a family that was having a celebration of life for somebody that they've lost. These are the types of things that before I wouldn't have been so vigilant on. But I understand appreciating those moments and being in the moment. And as you listen, I wonder if there are any times in your life that maybe you wished you had been more present. Clint and I adopt a lot of rules in our home. We've actually adopted a lot of rules when we take my dad out for a weekly dinner once a week. One of those rules is never having the cell phone out when we're sitting down to share time together for a meal. Clint and I have a two hour no cell phone rule before we go to bed. This allows us to start to disconnect from some of those blue gamma ray lights that are preventing us from getting in the rem sleep that we need in order to be more fulfilled for the next day. These are small things, they're easy to do. But it's also easy to sit there and scroll on your phone until it's time to shut your eyes. What are some things that you can do and implement in your own life to start to disconnect and to be more present? How can you do that with your own children? If you're like us and you don't have any children, maybe you have a cousin or a niece or nephew. What can you do even if it seems out of the ordinary, just take them for the day to take them and experience their world. Experience the world of their parents. How would that impact you in your own life? Is my personal belief that by allowing yourself to get uncomfortable with these sorts of things and experience life in a way that even though you're not willing to commit to yourself. It doesn't mean that you have to be completely objective to allowing yourself to learn from that and when you're able to be open to this and you're able to know that there are ways to be more expansive that don't necessarily require a lifetime commitment. Then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.
Balance. Optimize. Tactics.
Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.
Let's Connect!
Email: ashliewalton555@gmail.com
Website: www.leowarriors.com
