We put up our Christmas tree today. I’d promised Josh and Zoë and they both were so excited. As soon as lunch was finished, we put up the ornaments. Zoë was so bubbly… singing and squealing with excitement. When everything was up, Josh decided that he would draw some Christmas ornaments (see here) to cut out and hang on the tree. So he busied himself drawing.
Zoë, by that time, I could tell, was tired and ready for her nap. She came to me, looking all sad.
Zoë: Mommy, I need something.
Me: What do you need, Zoë?
Zoë: Something to make me happy. (Said with this really forlorn look that makes you just want to pick her up and cuddle her.)
Me: What would make you happy?
Zoe: Something pretty.
She wanted some sweet loving attention. She’d get all cuddly (or cranky) whenever she’s tired, but she’s never tried this approach before where she “needs something to make [her] happy.”
Me: Is a flower pretty?
Zoë: Yes.
Me: Would you want a flower?
Zoë: Yes.
Me: What color would you want your flower to be?
Zoë: A purple one. (Surprise, surprise.)
Me: Why don’t you go nap and when you wake up, you might just get a purple flower. Okay?
Zoë: Okay.
While she was napping, I made a little happy flower fan for Zoë .
This is the back –pink.
Josh helped me pick a purple popsicle stick, because “Zoë loves purple.”
When she woke from her nap, we gave her the fan and she was so happy. Her big sweet smile as she held on to her flower fan was priceless. “I like it, Mommy. I like it really much.”
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Yet another reminder to myself that it takes very little to make my children happy. That I just need to spend time and play with them and listen to them. Sounds easy enough, yet I find myself “forgetting” with my self-absorption sometimes. Books/blogs to read, posts to write, games to play (guilty!), business to take care of, phone calls to make/return, errands to run. How important are the rewards or consequences of those actions compared to my children’s happiness and well-being? I have to remember that now, they still want me to play with them. There will come a time when they would rather play with their friends. I wouldn’t want Josh or Zoë to look back on this time and say, “Oh, Mommy was too busy…”
How can I NOT forget?