The Dirt Pile

A few weeks ago I wrote a post entitled, Building Forts in the Woods about our adventures growing up and building forts.  Several people commented to me about how they did the same thing when they were younger and fondly remembered the great memories they had building forts.  Benjamin was looking through old photos on our home computer and I happened to by passing by him when he was looking at the pictures below and it reminded me of more good memories.

There are a lot of expensive toys that you can buy for your kids.  Toys that require batteries, maintenance, additional investment.  Toys that break, toys that the kids quickly lose interest in, toys that you are throwing away or storing in the attic or closet before they are paid for.  As I look at the joy on my boys' faces in these pictures from back in 2008, I realized that one of their favorite toys was a pile of dirt!

I know that makes us sound like we've neglected them.  We've gotten them their fair share of cool stuff, but nothing can quite compete with having a pile of dirt delivered. We've bought a lot of LEGO mini figures, toy guns, NERF guns, etc. but none of that compares with a $75 load of dirt.  You'll note that our daughter, Laura Lee, is not playing on the dirt pile, though, so this might not be as much fun for girls, but I remember playing on dirt piles as a kid. Did you?

A dirt pile allows you to use your imagination.  You can dig a hole in the middle and pretend it is a volcano.

Up, Up, and Away!

You can storm the lines of your opponent in battle, breaking through his dug in position, hurdling the foxhole as the enemy cowers in defeat.

Surrender!

You can jump around victoriously as you reach the top of Mount Suribachi and raise the flag.  

Oh Yeah!

So who cares if you get a little dirty in the process?  That is part of the fun.  Just listen to Momma and undress at the back door.  You don't want to be dragging all that dirt in the house, not unless you want to sweep and mop.

The Thrill of Victory.  The Agony of Defeat.

Important life lessons can be learned on the dirt pile.  You learn that you don't stay on top of the mountain for long.  Pretty soon someone comes along and knocks you off your high position and you find yourself tumbling down to the valley below.

King of the Mountain

But you can't stay down for long.  Gotta get up, dust yourself off, and charge right back up to the summit!

Whoooo!

Boys will be boys and they'll get dirty and wrestle and laugh and generally have a great time.  There are plenty of dirt clods on the pile that are great fun to throw at one another.  I can remember making tunnels in dirt piles as a kid and making roads in the dirt that my Matchbox cars would drive on.  I also used my Tonka toy dump truck and toy farm equipment on my childhood dirt pile.

Looking at these pictures, I shake my head.  Russ is now a sophomore in college and Benjamin is a teenager!  It is hard to imagine how time flies by so quickly.

Come to think of it, as soon as it dries up after all this rain, I really need to get a few piles of dirt delivered to build up some low areas around the barn.  I'm sure Benjamin will get plenty of enjoyment out of it before I get a wheelbarrow and haul it off.