At the end of my work day, I have roughly 4 hours with my kids before bedtime. It seems nearly impossible to cook dinner, manage household chores, and do the bathtub/bedtime routine in those hours, let alone squeeze in playtime. Lately I have been trying to loose weight so I also need to manage time to work out, therefore I have been going for a mile-2 mile walk pushing miss Tabbers in the stroller while Zechi tricks up his scooter and Hannah not so-happily peddles her bike. Zechi is as active as they come. Hannah, I can tell, is quickly becoming my bookworm. Tabby is blossoming into my tomboy.
I love all my children equally, with their own respect. But I openly admit that I have the most difficult time relating to Hannah. Princess, pink, dainty...she is everything I was not as a child. I am learning to accept that. And trying my darnedest to foster her natural personality.
And so when she wants to play Barbies, I admit-I don't know how!!! Therefore, I usual decline her offer to play.
Shame on me!
Tonight, Brandon took the kids to visit his dad while I helped a church friend with her online math class. Therefore turning my usual 4 hours to a mere hour with my kids. By the time they got home it was straight to the tub. Zechi was tired and didn't want to stay in long. So after some scrub time, he hopped out and got himself ready for bed "all by meself."
Then a conversation began:
Hannah: "mom, will you play Barbies with me?"
Me:"Hannah, it's bedtime."
Hannah:" please mom?"
Me:" no Hannah, it's bedtime."
Hannah:" just for (holds up 3 fingers) these minutes?"
Me:" sigh, if you get finished with tub quickly I'll play Barbies with you...but just for a little bit!"
Hannah:" yah! Thank you mommy!!!"
And so we played. And I tell you, it was by far THE coolest experience I have ever had with her. I learned so much from that few minutes, turned to one hour, of Barbie time. We role played, I was handed the "skipper" like doll and was therefore the daughter, and she was Barbie...therefore the mom. Here are some things I learned about my daughter from this role play experience: -we MUST pray before we eat AND before we go to bed.
-it's okay if "people" are missing hands (Sampson chewed off skippers hand) because "sometimes people are different and that's ok"
-"Jesus books" are her favorite stories
-sometimes we just need to "tend" (pretend)
-it's fun to have lots of friends
-girls are not "opposed" (supposed) to be naked, unless its with just girls then its okay (the barbie was naked)
-if your peepee hurts you show mommy. NOT daddy (apparently Skipper has an issue.)
-beast from "beauty and the beast" marries Belle so he is not mean and scary
-Rapunzel is her favorite princess but "belle is pretty cool"
-she knows I love her
-she loves me too...especially bedtime kisses
-she listens to everything I say
Mark my words. I will be making Barbie time a top priority in my mom-one on one time with my little sissy. She is remarkable. I've never questioned that. Tonight I just get to understand it better.
Taking it to a deeper level.
How often do we spend time with God? We are his child and he too wants to spend time with us. Sure, we Christians "know" what the word says, but spendning time in the word develops that relationship, opens our eyes to knew characteristics and details of God and his love for us. I remember learning way back in college during my child development days about role playing being an importanat developmental skill. As a Parent I KNOW it is important to spend time with my children, important to play WITH them. But KNOWING and DOING are two different things!
I KNOW The word of God, I KNOW I am supposed to spend time with him daily. I KNOW that reading the Bible will foster a deeper relationship with him.
It never surprises me how knowing this turns into a pleasant surprise once doing this happens.
Thanks Hans, You help mommy all the time, tonight you taught me a thing or two.
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