Is a Sofa Really a Fort? And Other Philosophical Questions.

Most friends of mine (that drop their kids off for playdates at my house) are very happy that their kids are drawn to the "fort". My older son is 8 and his friends still love building forts, which also keeps my younger twins entertained. That fort was my dot-com bubble purchase.... In a house filled with boys is a couch ever a couch, or is a couch just a fort waiting to be built? It all depends on philosophy.

My philosophy is to keep public areas as neat as possible, but the fort can stay as is. I have seen how much work goes into building it, and the kids can play for hours around it, so why would I break it down every night?  But one friend who brings their child over for a play date always asks (with extremely good manners) "Let my child help clean this up before we leave". I always say "no thanks, the fort will stay as is - but we can clean up other areas. I only break down the fort when we have families over for dinner, sometimes I leave it up for the kids to play in while the adults sit around the table and eat". My friend always looks so puzzled when I say that.

I re-evaluate my the situation every night when I shut the light off to the living room fort room.  For now, my fort philosophy still over-powers the neat philosophy. All of this fueled on by a philosophy to keep mom sane by making sure kids have independent play opportunities abound. Now that the weather is getting warm, I may be able to employ the "get the kids outside" philosophy to reclaim my sofa.