WHAT are you doing?

Oh, just playing in the gutter mud.

'Nothin' much.  Just diggin' up the landlord's moss.

Err, just accidentally breaking tools while ax-ing at the ground to lay the foundation for the fort.

I ask my kids to explain themselves all the time.  "What are you doing?"  In my dream world I would always say it in toneless calm voice, but that doesn't always happen in real life.  

I wonder how I would explain some of my own behavior if I was asked to report in as frequently.  Would I be equally embarrassed or equally oblivious?  I confess that I don't give too much thought to what my neighbors think of me as a mom, but I have no idea how I'd explain the things I do (or allow my kids to do) if I were questioned.

Yesterday as a neighborhood grandma crossed the cul-de-sac (as my kids were busy doing damage) I wondered what she'd say to me on my spot on the porch.  She didn't wait to get to my yard before she smiled and said "Thank you for letting the kids come over--this constructive play is so good for them." Her ten-year old granddaughter had another comment.  She said "someday I'm gonna have a cute house and three kids and I'm just gonna let them play in the mud all day while I get my work done like you do."  

I'll take both of those comments as positive feedback, thank you very much.