Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Day 9: Creating Happy Memories

Lately, I've been trying to be more intentional about just being present with my son. When I was growing up, my sister and I would spend every other weekend with my dad and I loved it. Dad always seemed up to doing whatever it was we wanted to do and his focus was on us 100% when we were with him. 

There are so many times when I hear Ethan say "Mama, sit!" and I have to respond with "Sorry, mama's busy.". I always feel this twinge of regret. Although, I'm also well aware that if I played every time he wanted to play then we would be up to our eyeballs in filth with no clean clothes and nothing to eat. 

Obviously Ethan and I can't have things exactly like they were for me and my dad. I don't have specific allotted time with my son. Luckily I'm with him all the time. That does mean that I do have to do a little bit of a juggling act though. There are days where I really do have to get things done to keep our house running somewhat smoothly, but I do try to make special time for Ethan where it is all about him. I want him to remember times when he had my full focus. I want him to look back when he is older and say..."Mom always made time just for me and my interests.". 

For example, he's been very into cooking lately. Anytime I head into the kitchen he is running behind me pushing a stool saying "Cook! Cook! Mama cook?". I'll admit that it isn't always convenient. It's hard to keep a two year old from eating raw egg or being patient while mommy is using a knife. But, it's an interest that we both share and I'm finding that having boys, those shared interests are going to be hard to come by. So, I make the best of it.

I take deep breaths, I'm constantly thinking of ways he can help me and participate with me. I keep the scolding to a minimum and just have to be okay with the process taking three times as long as it would have if it were just me. Honestly? We both have a lot of fun. He loves messing around in the kitchen. He's getting better at following instructions and developing patience. And that picky eater problem? Totally resolved. Turns out he loves to eat anything he had a hand in preparing. 

I don't know how long his interest in cooking will last. I hope it's something we can do together forever. More importantly though, I hope it lasts long enough for him to create happy memories and remember sharing that special time with just me. 

Photobucket


5 comments :

  1. Olivia loves to 'help' me cook too and while its time consuming and frustrating at times, that's how they learn and these are the moments they'll remember!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spence LOVES to cook and bake. He gets so excited to "help" mommy. I figure it's great to keep him busy, it's awesome math practice and fine motor skills, and helps with keeping him interested in the food on his plate. Yes, it's definitely messier but it's so worth the joy he gets from helping. We got him an apron this spring and he loves wearing it!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's so special. I need to try harder to get Eva involved in things like this. Maybe it can help blur the line between mommy being busy and mommy being focused on her. It is really such a juggling act.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's so special. I need to try harder to get Eva involved in things like this. Maybe it can help blur the line between mommy being busy and mommy being focused on her. It is really such a juggling act.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Xander is also TOTALLY into cooking. He is usually on sink duty - anything that needs to be washed (or played with under the water) is his jurisdiction. :)

    ReplyDelete

Comments make my day! Go ahead...get to typing. I want to hear from you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Creative Commons License

My Thoughts - Uninterrupted by Laura Sager is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.mythoughts-uninterrupted.blogspot.com/p/contact.html.

All images are property of Laura Sager unless otherwise noted.