Pausing to Enjoy Responsibilities

Well, today I have two funny stories of things my girl has said in the last week or so to share. The first one happened some time last week around bed time. I was reading something, and my girl decided she wanted my attention for herself. She placed her hand in between my eyes and the book and proclaimed, "I paused it Mama!" When I looked up at her, she told me what she had wanted to tell me, then removed her hand from in front of the book and said, "I unpaused it Mama, you can go ahead now." I must admit I was surprised at her creativity. She has tried this technique several times over the last week with varying degrees of success. While I can think of more polite ways of getting one's attention, I must admit it makes me smile every time she says, "I paused it!"

The other funny little thing happened yesterday as my girl was sitting playing with some of her 'friends'. I love to listen as she plays by herself, and hear the things she is pretending, and am always amazed at how creative she is. This time was no exception, and I overheard something entertaining as well as enlightening. The Big Nutbrown Hare, Little Nutbrown Hare, and Giraffe were all having a discussion. The giraffe was explaining to the little bunny, "If you have a problem, you ask your Mama, and she will fix it. If I have a problem, I ask your Mama, and she will fix it. If your Mama has a problem, she will fix it." I had to laugh at her 'definition' of motherhood, especially because I can't ALWAYS fix it!
She has been practicing the Primary song "Mother, I Love You" to sing with the children on Sunday, and it is really nice to hear her singing how much she loves me ----even when I am not able to fix things, or solve all the problems. There are times where I feel challenged to 'solve' the situation. On Sunday there was a moment where I was trying to get the dishes done, and Logan was involved in something at the same time, and my girl came up to me and forlornly exclaimed, "I wish I had someone to play with me....." (That ALWAYS makes me feel guilty!!!!) But, we 'solved' it by finishing the dishes and then playing a game together....Finding someone to play with you is just one of the challenges of being an only child. Even though she is great at playing by herself, and we do LOTS of things together, there are just times where she would appreciate a friend that is NOT Mama....
After a long week of my trying to get things done, we did Friday just for my girl. She got to choose where we went and what we did. We went on field trips to the pet store and the airport. After the airport she wanted to go "just one more place!" as though she couldn't bear the thought of the trip ending so soon. So we went to the bookstore and found some GREAT books, (we have a FABULOUS used bookstore) then headed home for lunch and quiet time. She decided quiet time would be extra special if instead of just laying down in our beds and listening to quiet music, we both could sit on my bed and watch a movie and have popcorn and juice! We also talked about some 'friends' coming over in a short amount of time. When I told her some of her special friends were coming, she wanted to go to the airport right then and get them. When I explained that it was more than a week away, she said, "I hope they like to play dinosaur train with me. Do you think they like to play dinosaur train?" So for now, my girl is waiting with patient anticipation for friends coming long distance for a 'play date', and I am getting time to 'pause' to enjoy my responsibilities as chief 'fixer of problems', and best friend for my girl!