His sky blue eyes peered up at me.
Mama, why don’t you play?
I looked up from my very important I-don’t-even-remember-what.
Play what, sweetie?
He slightly shrugged while the blond wisps of hair sheltered his puzzled expression.
You know, games.
Why don’t you play more?
Deep breath. My hand took his small chin and focused on this young precious son of mine.
I don’t know.
I should play more.
Could-a, would-a, should-a.
No good reason. Endless unimportant reasons.
Oh, I know why. I don’t play more so I can gather more stuff, arrange all the stuff, clean all the stuff, organize all the stuff, and do it all again the next day.
Do you ever feel like you spend your time chasing your tail? Then at the end of the day, you are mighty proud that you caught your tail for just a second, realized that you were in an impossible position ~ holding your tail, so you let go, and started chasing it all over again.
Isn’t this the way it is with the endless chores and to-dos? The must-dos and gotta-gos.
All the while, the little ones you love to the end of time are wondering why you don’t just chill out and play.
It is definitely easier said than done. We, after all, must care for, feed, wash, clothe, clean, teach, and on and on and on.
But, maybe, just a little more time should be made to play. Just play.
It’s something that I have struggled and wrestled with for over a decade of motherhood.
It’s easy to say,
Forget the dishes and spend time with your child.
Until the dishes begin to spill out of the sink onto the floor. Never mind all the other tasks, and chores, and places to go.
But… maybe… it’s not as complicated as it seems.
There is a time for everything. Everything important.
I read a study that stated that children only need 15 minutes of devoted one-on-one time per day.
15 minutes.
That’s it.
Some things just are more important than other things.
I dread the day I have a clean house… and silent rooms.
So, today… I will play.
Forget the mess. For just one day.
Embrace the little arms, pull out the toys, add to the mess… just play.
P retend you are that little kid again. It’s one of the gifts of motherhood. To be little again.
L eave the mess alone. It will be there tomorrow. We are here today.
A ppreciate the view in front of you. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be perfectly beautiful.
Y es. You can do this for one day. It is one day. One day is a long time for a kid… remember?
Psalm 33:3
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.
