Make the Time

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend the day with ONE child … my sleeper-inner … my rat’s-nest-hair girl … my helper … 

Our day was FULL … 

We shopped for camper supplies, then came home to wash everything, and put it in the camper. 

She LOVED the shopping (it’s been months since she’s been allowed in a store) … she was focused on our list, and super helpful along the way. She took delight in picking towel colours and soap dispensers. She responded to “no’s” and “not-right-now’s” with grace and understanding. She didn’t ask for anything from the toy aisle … in fact, we didn’t even go down the toy aisle … she unloaded her carts with enthusiasm and carried what she could to the truck.

For lunch, she was satisfied with a KD cup and a creamsicle for dessert … albeit, not the most nutritious meal … it was SIMPLE and I was happy to just keep things simple for once … 

She took on the job of removing all of the packaging from the food prep supplies we bought … not one word of complaint … not one “when am I going to be done this?” … just grit and determination … and seeing a job through all the way to the end … throughout all of the washing and all of the drying and all of the putting away … absolutely no need for encouragement at any point … 

She did all of this, and I sewed … yes, I did something completely non-essential … something I just wanted to do, because I thought it would be better … I took down the built-in blinds in the camper and I put curtains up instead. The blinds didn’t open, and I knew I (we) would want the light to come in … to be able to look out the window when we wanted …but also be able close things up at night … we needed something a little more functional … but (maybe, more importantly), we needed something prettier … after all, I really do like pretty things … 

She worked away at her project, and I worked away at mine … 

When she wanted to give sewing a try, we worked together to hem a different set of curtains … she ran the foot peddle, and I did the rest … she loved it, and so did I. 

With the camper work wrapped up, she made herself a bowl of popcorn for snack, and we headed to the dump to get rid of some garbage … again, no complaints (but we both agreed the place smelled nasty) … finally, we hauled in six + months of recycling to SARCAN … again, she helped by hauling in bags, dumping bags into the receptacles, and waiting patiently while everything was counted … 

Of course, all of this hard work had to be rewarded … with a 5:00 ICE CREAM! Did it push suppertime back a bit? You bet. No big deal though … this girl can go with the flow … when we’re on our own, the two of us can even sneak in a 5:30 p.m. game of Marbles in the camper … something no one else would be able to handle … 

Again and again, throughout the day, I found myself delighting in my second daughter … she’s a wonder … a gift … it’s been WAY too long since I’ve taken the time to BE with JUST HER … yesterday, I was reminded of the importance of doing this more often … with HER … with EACH of my children, actually …

It’s SUCH  a gift to be able to focus on ONE of your children … take delight in ONE of your children … too often, in a group, it is much harder to see the LIGHT … to see the GOOD … to see the WONDER … 

Yesterday was an IMPORTANT reminder FOR ME about how critical it is for us to TAKE THE TIME (or MAKE THE TIME) to be with JUST one kid at a time … 

I hope me sharing this with you today serves you in some way …