I’m nine years into this motherhood gig. Some days are super mundane, but I’m so surprised by some parenting revelation every once in a while. A moment in time when I step back and say, “Woah, so THAT’S what everyone talks about!” My most recent revelation is finding “little moments” with each of my daughters.
Thinking back to growing up in my own family as a kid, I spent a lot of time with my mom. I was always up for a trip to the mall, the supermarket, anywhere really.
Our close relationship has stayed the course, thank goodness.
I’m sure she remembers plenty of things differently (hello, obnoxious teen years!), but I remember a lot of time with her on these solo adventures. My favorite memory is one of the times she and I went to Disney World alone. In January, we went down to Florida on some other family business. We went to Disney because, as huge Disney fans, we certainly weren’t going to enter the great state of Florida and not go to our favorite place!
We had such a great time. I remember thinking that even as a (mostly) grown-up, there’s just something about being taken care of by your mom, and I was so happy that even though I was married and had this whole new life with my husband, we still had this special time together. I think of that trip often.
Now that my own children are getting older, I’m finally finding the little moments with them as well. When your kids are small, it’s hectic chaos all the time. There is no moment to stop and enjoy, even though everyone tells you to.
You’re always trying to get to the next nap, diaper change, feeding time, and finally, bedtime. But now, I can look at them and REALLY look at them. I can ask them questions about their day and have real conversations. And I’m noticing that they thrive when they get one-on-one time with me.
Recently, my daughter had to leave a birthday party early and miss the cake. And if you’ve ever met my daughter (and I suspect many other children), the cake is the best part of the party! I promised her we would go for a “sweet treat” later that day. As luck would have it, my younger daughter wanted to stay behind and hang out with her dad, so it was just me and my 9-year-old. We went to a craft store to pick up her class craft and then did a little research together and found a tiny ice cream shop we’d never been to. I had a little trouble finding it, and she was my amazing navigator! We sampled ice cream flavors and picked our favorite, and then just sat on a bench and had our ice cream and talked.
I realize how this sounds. I just spent a whole paragraph explaining sitting eating ice cream with my daughter, but it was more.
It was just us, connecting, having a moment together. There is no younger sister to interrupt, no texts, and no need to rush anywhere. Just a mom and a daughter, sitting on a bench, eating ice cream.
 savor the little moments and help our connection flourish, and maybe if I'm fortunate, this special bond will grow and last through our whole lives together. ){kind=link}