Okay. First, let me say that I don’t think everyone is going to let their kids dig a huge hole in their backyard – I understand this. But I have to say, a huge hole in our backyard has been the source of some pretty great adventures and experiences!

I gave each of our three boys their own shovels earlier in the year, secretly hoping they would use these new shovels to help me dig holes for all the plants I wanted to get in the ground. One day, while I was digging holes in my Butterfly Garden, my kids were digging a hole in our backyard. Our backyard is a field several acres in size, so a hole in the ground didn’t seem like a big deal to me. I kept a watchful eye on my boys while they were digging in the hard clay. It was amazing that they worked tirelessly as a team on that hole in the ground, yet getting them to pick up their clothes in their rooms is like asking them to move a mountain. But that’s a different story.

At one point, I noticed that the hole was getting so deep, I was certain they would hit water! Then I heard my middle son exclaim “Mom! There’s water in the hole!” – Sure enough, I looked out and saw that my son was standing in the hole up to his chest!

This hole in our yard has remained for several months. It is a spot that my children visit on a regular basis. Sometimes, it is a hiding place, an area to crawl down into when invisible invaders are at hand. At other times, it is a perilous snake pit, crocodile lair, or boiling tar pit that must be avoided at all costs! At one point, they were sure they could use it to trap the large black bear that eats our bird seed and berries! Thank goodness they haven’t captured him yet!

My husband doesn’t like having to mow around the hole, but he never fills it in either. In fact, I’ve caught him a few times standing over it out in the yard, hands on his hips, shaking his head – but with a big grin on his face at the same time. He knows the importance of the hole too.

It’s rained a lot in our area the last several days, so of course, the hole is now full of water, and becomes a whole new adventure area (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun). The boys take turns jumping into the hole to feel their feet being sucked into the mud – this is endless fun for them. It suddenly becomes a sea of quicksand, waiting to gobble up any unsuspecting adventurer who happens to wander too close – then it’s all hands to the rescue to save their hapless team member from the quagmire. Throwing mud balls into the hole, and watching the mud splash onto their brothers always seems to signal the end of a successful rescue. What fun to watch!!

I think every child should experience the very basic, simple pleasure of digging a hole. Crawling into the hole, playing in water and mud in the hole, jumping over the hole…. childhood just doesn’t get much better than that.

So if you’ve got a safe spot to do so, go ahead – give your kids a shovel. Encourage them to dig a hole – a big hole – in your yard! You can always fill it in later, the grass will always grow back, and you’ll never know the hole was there. But the simple pleasures they will get from their own creation will be memories they will have forever.