Today I watched Peter play with the kids. He was throwing the football to them outside, and teaching them to play soccer. Then they all came inside and played hide and go seek, even Daddy running through the house. These are priceless moments in our busy lives, ones that we treasure. These moments can occur at any time, any day, and yet too often we let them slip away until we have completed our more urgent work.
It's hard for me (and I think Peter too) to find - no make - time to make the most of each moment. How often do I play with my precious children? I meet their needs, I go to them at night when they cry or need me, recently racking up an average of 4-5 hours of sleep a night with all the colds and sickness, but how often do I let the dishes, the laundry, my shower(!) go, and just let down my hair and enjoy these little ones? Not often enough.
I want to be a fun parent. I don't mean by that an indulgent parent, giving in to every whim or demand, but I mean one that loves to enjoy my children, and let them see it. Kids can tell the difference between scheduled fun and pure fun, just like grown-ups.
Tonight while I was cutting Peter's hair we were talking about this. We both agreed that we want to spend more "down" time with the kids, playing things that THEY enjoy.
With new year's resolutions just around the corner, you can bet this will be on our lists for 2009. Let's show our kids we love them, and let our actions confirm our words.
2 comments:
I have to agree. I think my favorite moments are when we are all laughing together over some shared joke or just playing together. What a good New Year's resolution!
This is my constant struggle too. There's a long to-do list and then there's my kids begging for me to just play. I want to enjoy them while they're young. But there's a balance, too, I guess.
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