A Mom-Blog-Post-Induced Realization: I Can Make Any Moment A Party.
I am a glutton for those mom blog posts that go viral and make you feel like sh*t about yourself for not appreciating your kids enough and then trigger this supermom reflex where you decide that from this moment on you are going to savor every second with your little ones. Then, your five year old has a meltdown and slams the door in your face because you had the nerve to tell her she needed to put underwear on and your one year old screams bloody murder because you had to put her down for a second so you can pee and you start desperately texting every babysitter in your phone to get a break...
Anyway- you know the ones I am talking about, right? And as sappy as they can seem, often accompanied by photos of sad looking mom silhouettes, watching little kids run off into the sunset, I appreciate that those posts remind me of the thing I need to be reminded of like 10 times a day- our kids are only young for a few years and, during that time, we create their entire world for them.
This post called "The Best Part of Your Life"from a site called BluntMoms.com popped up on a friend's Facebook page on Monday. If you haven't read it, you should. It ended with the following words:
"Soon you won’t be the centre of their universe. . . just a moon to their growing life, a witness to their change. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Soon they will grow up. Drown in them, while you can, as there is sometimes more to life than swimming easily through the waves."
In that moment, the writer's words really spoke to me- especially since Monday is the day each week when I am fully alone with both Alexa and Goldie. On that day, it is up to me completely how much fun they have, how many new things they learn, how healthy they eat, how many treats they get and, let's be honest here, how much tv they watch (so I can check email and perhaps sneak a peek at what is new at Carbon38 or on sale at Zulily).
So- I made a decision. If I am currently given the temporary gift of being the center of their universe, I can make their universe fun and memorable. On a whim, I have the power to make their world the most special, fun, cozy, safe cocoon of silliness and spontaneity- all the things that, in the real universe, can't always happen on the turn of a dime.
It was 4pm, Wallykazam had just ended, Goldie had polished off her bottle, and we had no plans for the rest of the day. Instead of putting on another show and trying to distract Goldie with light up toys so she could amuse herself while I pieced together some semblance of dinner and watched the clock, I made a declaration.
"Ladies- guess what? We are having a party! A Pizza, Pajama and (My Little) Pony party!" (Alliteration can turn any grouping of random things into a theme party, right?)
Alexa cheered, and, just out of instinct, Goldie clapped and squealed. Granted, she would do that if I told her we were doing anything that involved some sort of food component, but still...
The festivities began with a bath- because you have to get your primp on for any party, be it one made up by mom or not. Plus, we didn't bathe them on Sunday so it really wasn't an option. I ordered pizza delivery, Alexa dug her favorite My Little Pony nightgown out of the hamper, and we scrambled through the house gathering all of the My Little Pony figurines we could find for a marathon round of playing pretend Ponyville in the playroom.
The pre-bedtime hours that typically move at a snails pace flew by, and all three of us went to bed with huge smiles on our faces.
We each had our own reasons. I am guessing for Alexa it was getting to put on dirty pjs before dark and play My Little Pony with mommy's undivided attention. For Goldie, it was probably eating all of mommy's pizza crusts. For me? It was the satisfaction of knowing that, from nothing more than a spur of the moment idea, I made just another Monday night into one that can forever live in our collective memory bank as a special one.