Let Me Rock You

The other day, I was having a hard time with feeling very sensitive to Dane after he woke up from his nap. Sometimes when he wakes up from his naps (well, most of the time), he is very sensitive, and very much wants to be held and for me to not do anything around the house. And usually I am up for it, but this time I was just wanting to get things done- I was getting the kids' dinner ready. That was not right of me, I'm just being honest about where I was at. Well, Teda is just such a sweet big sister, and very observant and insightful. She saw this happening, and she filled in where I was lacking. She swooped right in, and was saying in such a caring and kind tone, "Come here Dane, I will rock you. Come sit with me right here. I love you." And he didn't want to, he really wanted me to. And I was actually feeling relieved that Teda was wanting him to sit with her so I could continue doing what I was doing (wow, looking back it's embarrasing how I was acting and so unloving towards my kids, yikes). So I was encouraging Dane to go over there with her. She was getting so sad, and even said, "Dane, I'm so sad that you're not coming over here. Please come and I will rock you." So I ended up telling him that we weren't going to eat until he went and sat with Teda. At this point, I was feeling sad for Teda that she was sad, and I was trying to do all I could to get him over there so she didn't feel rejected by him. So he went over there and she was so happy. He sat on her lap, and she asked me if I would push them in the recliner. I found myself start to say that I couldn't because I was busy. (How sad is that that I can get so involved in what I'm "doing" that I would even think to say no to something like that... I never cease to amaze myself at how selfish I can be) But I decided against saying no, and said I would. So I was pushing them, and it was just the sweetest sight. I ran and grabbed my camera.


I needed to post this because I want to remember that life is not about "doing". Even when I think, I just need a few more minutes, if they would just leave me alone for another minute so I can finish ___________... fill in the blank: dinner, laundry, bills, blogging even, checking my email, straightening up, etc. I don't want them to think that I'm too busy for them with things that are SO not important in the big picture. My relationship with them is so much more important than having a clean house. I seem to forget that or ignore that almost daily. And the truth is that just minutes after I've cleaned the house, it's messy again. But if I will take the time to sit with my kids, spend time with them, enjoy them (because they're just so much fun to be with), that is so much more beneficial than always doing and them figuring out how to keep themselves entertained while I'm flying past them this way and that all through the house. Yikes, this is something I really need to work on. Balance. That's the lesson of my life- balance.

You know, as I am typing this, I have to say something else. Zach is SO good at really being with the kids when he's home. He's playing with them right now- playing little people, and cars on their little car race track that our friends just gave us. He gets right down on their level and will wrestle around and play. The other day he was playing this hilarious game with them- Elephant. He took Jett's bumbo seat and put it on his head, and was crawling around like an elephant, making the noises and all. And Teda had a little toy animal, and was pretending it was a mouse- because you know elephants are scared of mice. So she would put it by his feet and say, "Squeek!" And Zach would buck around and scream, and scamper back to his blocked off "cage" in the front corner of the room. Then the kids would run into their rooms and count to 10, and come find the elephant and do it all over again. He's just so creative with little games for them. I can learn a lot from him.

He also takes them "clubbin" before bed sometimes. We went to the dollar store and got a whole bunch of glow sticks. He takes them in their room and they turn off all the lights, turn on the music and just dance around with their glow sticks. It just makes my heart sing to watch them, it's so adorable. They can be in there for a half hour and I won't hear anything because they're just dancing away. It's SO awesome. I'm not sure who has more fun, the kids or Zach! He's just an amazing daddy to our children, and I feel so thankful for that.