- When my sister was over at my house the other day, she did something that made me think. She immediately went into Chloe’s room and started playing dolls with her. I knew she had worked all day and was tired, but she took the time. It made me wonder how long it had been since I’d gone into Chloe’s room and played with her. Much too often now, my energies are going elsewhere. Understandably, I’m often holding the baby. Then when the baby sleeps, I’m using the time to catch up on housework or honestly, sometimes just spend some “me time” watching TV or playing on my phone.
- It’s no secret that Chloe’s reaction to playing second fiddle isn’t always pristine, but rather natural for a 2 year old, first child. She is always working to get my attention, even if it’s negative. Last night when I wouldn’t hold her while I cooked dinner, she reacted by hitting a metal spoon onto the dishwasher and yelling, “you better listen to me.” My first thought was “what a little mimic!” (Except for the spoon part of course). She seems to have grown up tremendously since the baby’s arrival and says some of the wildest things. She has a mild food allergy. Last night I made barbecue chicken that she apparently didn’t like. When I told her to eat it, she responded, “I can’t Mom. It makes my face break out.” But then she does some really cute stuff to redeem herself. Earlier I noticed a bandaid on the foot of Bailey’s sleeper. Upon questioning, Chloe told me she put it there because she accidentally stepped on Bailey’s foot and wanted to make it better.
- So today I found myself sitting in my favorite arm chair checking my Facebook. Bailey was asleep. I looked over and saw Chloe playing with her dollhouse. I immediately felt a tug at my heart. I put my phone down and went into Chloe’s room. I asked her “Can I play?” The beautiful, gap toothed grin on her face as she said yes, melted my heart. Such fun. We played on the top bunk and set up a stuffed animal hospital up there, using her doctor kit to see furry patient after patient. (Yeah, I can’t get away from patient care even when I leave work). I took the battery powered baby monitor outside and we played hide and seek, ball, stick sword fights, and with the puppy until we got too cold. It was great to just stop and play. So now that you’ve finished reading my blog; put down your phone or shut down that computer and go hug someone you love and take the time to play.
That is all 🙂