04 February 2014

What did you do today?

The other day I had a friend drop by for a few minutes. She caught me at a less than glamorous moment (smudged make up, dirty house, no bra, yoga pants, and a long list of other embarrassing bullet points I try not to think about). I know this friend wasn't judging me and I enjoyed our little conversation as we chatted and I pushed a ball back and forth with Henry. She asked me a few questions about motherhood and than said "So this is what you do each day?"

I will admit, at that particular moment I wasn't giving the stay at home mom gig a great image. Even so, I could tell that thought of pushing a ball back and forth and saying "Yes, the cow says Moo" for the 7,000th time looked terribly boring and mind numbing to such a beautiful and inquisitive mind like hers.

Since that little interaction I have been trying to put into words for myself what exactly it is I "do" everyday. It only took Ronnie a few times of asking "So what did you guys do today?" before he quickly learned that it is the worst possible question you can ask a stay at home mom. You see, when I try and answer that question it comes out sounding so boring and unimportant. I hear myself rattling off words like nap, lunch, clean, and play. If I try and go into further detail it gets even more depressing because there are only so many times you can say "we did the animal puzzle and read books" before it hits you just how many times you've done those things. It's so hard to put into words what we have "done" each day because what we are really doing is hidden beneath all those boring explanations.
Yes, there were messes at breakfast, and lunch, and dinner. There were toys pushed across every square inch of floor and diapers messier than you can imagine. Somewhere in the mess of toys, and repetition of animal sounds for the millionth time, something that can only be explained as magic or a miracle happens. That glorious little brain of Henry's make beautiful sense of the world.

So yes, to many it looks like we are stacking the same old blocks, and knocking them over...again, but when I spend each moment of the day doing these things, I see that it is SO much more than that. I see that amazing brain of his connect words and sounds with objects, understand balance, and cause and effect. I get to see his face light up when he rediscovers that ugly little stuffed lamb that was hiding at the bottom of a basket, and watch as he kisses and hugs it because thats what he has learned to do when we love something. Watching Henry grow isn't simply just looking for milestones and checking them off as soon as he has accomplished them. I get to watch in awe as he observes, practices, tests, repeats, and discovers who he is, one messy day at a time.

3 comments:

  1. Love this! Thank you for the reminder of how those little things really do matter. I often get discouraged at the end of the day when I have nothing to "show for" what I did that day. But seeing your child learn is so rewarding and playing those dumb little games pays off big time.

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  2. Beautiful! With your ability to express you should publish a column for all would be mothers to digest. Obviously you are taking marriage and motherhood as a very serious challenge.

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