My son was having a moment on the floor lost somewhere in his imagination when it hit me...THIS is one of my favorite parts of parenting and I was letting it slip away on this snowy morning. The table was full of paperwork, the sink was full of dishes and countless other chores were in need of something. I stopped and grabbed the brand new Lego pirate set and both of our eyes widened with excitement. We built our little treasure island together piece by piece. He made up the tale of the sea to go along with the brand new canon, raft, cave and fort. I made water out of tissue paper to complete the scene. We played. I saw his little fingers with the dexterity of a five year old...he has come so far so quickly. We were so excited to see that the pieces could be put together in different ways to make completely new adventures.
As the day progressed we baked muffins together, mixed imaginary crepes, played with the spice bottles, sat through pretend wrestling matches and listened to Emily in her piano lesson. But we kept going back to the pirates. Our little plastic pieces had been magical this morning. A source of pride and joy that we built together as a team.
The balance is hard. Life is a juggling act, a hamster wheel, a delicate puzzle. In one day we have to make sure vitamins are taken, piano is practiced, chores are done and ears are clean. We also have to tend to little spirits, teach lessons of life and let the imaginations soar. It is what makes us mothers. I worry about the humans they will grow up to be. I take this job more seriously than any other and sometimes I put too much pressure on eating veggies and forget to build tiny plastic ships. Most of the time I do alright though and to those times I say AHOY!
No comments:
Post a Comment