Moments of a Mom

Ciaran said to me "Sometimes I feel like something is missing and then I climb in your lap and snuggle and nothing is missing anymore"  then he climbed into my lap and stayed there for over an hour.  He asked to stay up late next to me reading and feel asleep with his head in my lap.  What more beautiful moment could I want with my 9 year old son?

Sirah has been dressing up a lot with the neighbors and has entered her  English queen accent phase.  I remember when Maria was in this stage too.  Funny how they both ended up there.  She asked me just to lay with her last night until she feel asleep because it is calming and comforting to her.  She has taken to telling me I am her queen and how beautiful I am.  She has been especially noticing my hair and asking to braid it or play with it.

Maria has a birthday coming up and is in the pushing boundaries stage but still she and I had a several hour long heart to heart one morning before anyone else was up.  Sitting on the couch in the living room and then in her bed talking on all sorts of topics and hopefully setting groundwork for these kinds of conversations all through the teenage years I thought about how much I am still enjoying our changing relationship.  Time with me, especially undivided time is still very important to her.  While I can no longer simply touch her and make the crying stop like when she was a baby I know that being there for her is the most comforting thing I can give her now.

"Your presence is soothing" - yes it is a Star Wars quote but one I often here from Serona.  He just wants me around in the same room and near to him even when he is playing a video game or reading a book, engaged in a solo hobby he says it is better if I am just there with him.

It is good to be wanted so by so many people.  I used to find it demanding and a bit draining, like everyone wants something all the time.  Now though I look at it differently.  I really am thankful they all want me around so much and that I really make a difference in their lives as they do in mine.  I suppose it is easier now that no one needs to nurse or have their diapers changed and they can entertain themselves on their own when needed.  Still it is if something in me switched and I realized not everyone has this sort of relationship with their spouse and kids and it is something I love about who we are.  I realize the time is fleeting and maybe that makes it easier to embrace.

This weekend there were moments when everyone needed something and it felt like all I was doing was pouring out.  Even Serona commmented on it and complimented me on it and I thought these are the moments that make up being a wife and mother and I am so very thankful for them.  Too many moments to share but just a glimpse into my moments.  Enjoy yours today.

Summer Moments to Remember

 We had a great family 4th of July weekend.  Spending lots of time with neighbors, friends, and our family.  We went to a carnival, launched water balloons at each other with a catapult, took the kids to their first live concert and dance, saw the parade, shot off and watched many fireworks, swam, played badminton in a pouring rainstorm, played Star Wars Risk, enjoyed video games, watched movies and just really enjoyed being together as a family.

This year I realized how soon it will come that our kids will want to start splitting up and doing things more with their friends then with us and I think that made this weekend even more special to us.  Taking that time together while the kids still really want to be with us and enjoy our time together as a family.  Watching the sparkle in my kids eyes as they watch the fireworks display, even the almost 11 year old.  Watching our 6 year old up on dad's shoulders for another year or two. It really is precious and special time together and I am so thankful we have had so much of it.

As I watched my kids swim in the pool at a friends house, use sparklers and snaps I was reminded of being their age myself and spending the 4th with cousins and family friends doing the very same things.  A few days ago we took the kids to catch fireflies in a nearby field and I was brought back to countless nights in my own childhood doing the same.  Having water gun fights with my kids I think how I wish I had a super soaker instead of a small squirt gun that needed to be continually refilled, still it is the same.  Watching them ride their bikes and continually want a bigger boundary reminds me of my own days bike riding through my neighborhood.  Having a baseball catch with my son reminds me of having the same with my dad.

There are differences to be sure - my daughter loves playing dolls with the neighbors far more than I recall doing.  My son builds bows and arrows and tree forts and has a love for wildlife I don't recall having at his age.  We don't live near an ocean but have lakes surrounding us every few miles.  Video games seem to be more pervasive and more of a driving factor for my kids and their friends than they were for me at these ages. I also remember playing far more board games then they seem to enjoy despite our continual efforts.

Still so much of summer seems universal to me despite generations.  There are small changes, different rules, different neighborhoods and improved technology to be sure but still so much of it repeats itself.  I wonder if that is because we are sharing our experiences with our kids or if there is just something about summer and kids that leads to the same things occuring over and over again.

I love summer time and the freedoms that come with it.  I love having the privelage and freedom to be home with my kids to enjoy these days.  I love that right now my job is going to the lake, pool, park, arboretum, zoo, ball fields, and playing around the yard.  Honestly who could ask for a better job or work environment.  Hope you are enjoying your summer.