All They Want Is Your Time

​Finally. A day off. A day where I could sleep in - well as much as my son let me, which was 9:45 today so I won't complain. A day where I could catch up on housework. Between nannying, picking up extra babysitting jobs, and running virtual parties for my Pampered Chef business, a day off is a rare gem for me.

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As I sat on my kitchen floor (still in my pajamas) playing with my son, it occurred to me that I should be using this time to do the dishes, straighten up his bedroom, go through the 6 boxes of books that were just gifted to us, do some computer work - honestly the list goes on and on. So, I was about to slowly move Andrew from my lap and get to work, when it dawned on me that my son could care less about any of that stuff - all he cares about is spending time with his Mama, even he if can't verbally tell me that yet.

So, there we sat. Me in my pajamas. Him in his 4th of July outfit we had no one to show it off to. Just sitting and enjoying each other's company while he played with a magnet and a tupperware container. Nothing fancy.

Sometimes, as parents, I think we get so caught up in creating this AMAZING experiences for our children. Going here and there and spending crazy amounts of money to give them the best of everything. Here on my kitchen floor though, I didn't spend a cent - I just gave him my time. That's really all our children want from us.

So, I urge all you parents out there to take a step back from your to-do lists and your chores and make it a point to spend time with your children. Whether you go out and spend money doing it or just staying home and doing "nothing" - because really that "nothing" is so much more than that. It really is EVERYTHING to them.
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It's now 4:13pm and Andrew is taking a nap. I am still in my pajamas and the house isn't clean. Sure, I've started some of the work on my list while he was napping and I could have gotten much more done had I let him do his own thing earlier. Would he have been scarred had I done that? Of course not. Would he have loved me less? No way. However, as important as I feel that independent play is at this age - but that's another topic for another post, I also feel just as strongly about making time for your children. They didn't ask to be brought into this world. That was a decision you made for them, so take the time to let them be part of your world, even if that means letting the dishes sit in the sink a little longer. Trust me, your children won't mind.