Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Playing with the children is not optional

There was excitement in the air today.

Just as I was saying that something I sold on ebay was paid for and I needed to get it shipped before the post office closed, Alisha said, "I made my first sale!"

She has been trying so hard to make her online thrift store successful. Today, she made her first sale to a person she didn't know.

So we were both getting orders ready, and Tripp went crazy. Now, Tripp is an awesome kid. But sometimes I think she should have named him Wild and Crazy. Because as we were running around getting our orders ready, with this total "Woo Hoo! Success!" vibe in the air, Tripp decided to join in the excited atmosphere and whip board games off the shelf and THROW them in the air. Like they were confetti at a wild party. Within minutes, we had Dominos, 3 versions of Yahtzee, Battleship, Thomas the Tank Engine Tic Tac Toe, Scrabble and Mancala scattered throughout the living room. We kept saying, "Tripp! Stop! We have to do this!"

Until finally, I realized that I was the one who had to stop. I went to Tripp, carried him out to his blocks, and started building a road. And pushing cars through the road. And looking at the little Zebra in his Peek a Blocks with him. I said to Alisha, "You get yours done, I'll play with him. When you're finished, we'll switch." Deep breaths.

Sometimes, you just have to step back and trust that All Is Well and it will all work out. Which it did. We went to the post office, the boys fell asleep in the car, and I sat in the car while Alisha cleaned up the living room.

We have so many projects going on. Trips to take, food to prepare, homeschool activities to plan, businesses to run, writing projects to complete... It can get overwhelming if we don't remember...one step at a time. Once I started playing blocks with him, the crazy throwing of board games stopped. He needed attention. And taking care of the children isn't something that should get done after everything else, if and when you have time. It is at the top of the To Do list. It is a Must Do. I met his needs FIRST and THEN everything else fell in place. Not only because it's easier to get through the day when there aren't Scrabble tiles and Yahtzee tiles raining down on you, but because these little people are important and honoring their needs is the right thing to do.

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