Quantity time? I got that covered.
But simply being with them is hard for me.
It's hard for me to walk just to walk. To go slow and touch every rock and splash in every puddle. To lay in the grass and giggle with them.
But sometimes, when I really make the effort, I rock at getting that quality time in.
I sing silly songs and have dance parties and breathe in their sweet smells long past bedtime. I fill their little hearts with all the love I can muster.
And it's good.
It's way good.
And I think this is one new habit I can gladly keep up.
How about you? Does playing with your kids come natural to you or is it something you really have to concentrate on doing?
I'm trying to be better at this. I'm good at initiating play, but as soon as they're occupied, my mind wanders through my To Do list. I need to re-train my brain to think of the 5 minutes that they're happily playing in the grass as time for me to do the same instead of time to wash the windows quickly.
ReplyDeleteMy poor child has been neglected due to my working from home. I try and have days where it's all about her to make up for our lost time. I'm supposed to be working 31 hours/week from home. Crazy. Thank goodness the thought of REALLY playing with her pops in my head everyday, so for now we try and do the best we can with it. I keep telling myself "when my job's done" at the end of this month we are going to play like it's nobody's business!!! Plus, I can start looking in to this homeschooling stuff to see if it's for us!
ReplyDeleteNicole,
ReplyDeleteYour kids are A.DOR.A.BLE!
And I agree with you that quantity time is easy to come by. Quality time requires effort. And when it's put forth....it is so worth it!
Oh, I totally know what you mean. Sometimes it's hard to slow down.... and enjoy the little, mundane things that we take for granted every day ~ a cool stick on the ground, a unique leaf, a bug..... but it is so worth it when we (I) force myself to.
ReplyDeleteso true...sometimes its hard to just be there...not think about a million other things...ticking off that to-do list for later...and just BE there...but it is so amazing when I can turn it all off and just enjoy them completely...I wish it did come more naturally...thanks for this reminder!
ReplyDelete