I've been doing a lot of quiet thinking lately about this blog...and more and more proud of it. I won't go into the details, but the news lately has gotten me thinking about what I'd be leaving behind for my kids to get to know me if I was gone. Depressing? Not at all. The more I write, the more I feel like it's one day--me living or dead--going to help my kids get to know me. How I felt about them. How I felt about the world. What I'd want them to keep in mind if I wasn't there to guide them.
So forgive me going forward if a few posts get a little sentimental. But kids, this is the reason I stayed home to be with you...
This morning I've been sitting on the floor playing with them. We had Cole's train set in a circle and my legs made a "tunnel" over the track with him guiding them around. He'd do laps saying "toot, toot." Then we had a discussion about how one of the engines was pulling a caboose. "Pulling a 'boose," he said. Then Leda would stop what she was doing to swoop in monster-style and grab pieces of track to chew. Eventually, Cole turned one of the curved pieces into a "gate" and was running them off-track asking me to "close the gate" behind the vehicle when it was outside the loop.
It's honestly the first time I think I've ever really felt like he was playing WITH me, not around me or using me as a prop. There was interaction and conversation and I love these new moments to teach him things. Every time we read a tractor book he loves I never miss the opportunity to show him that the plow is turning dirt so the farmer can plant seeds and things can grow. That lesson isn't in the book. It's dad-added.
So many things, I find, are dad-added. Things someone else might think to teach them, but are unique to us. It's the reason I stay home.
So forgive me going forward if a few posts get a little sentimental. But kids, this is the reason I stayed home to be with you...
This morning I've been sitting on the floor playing with them. We had Cole's train set in a circle and my legs made a "tunnel" over the track with him guiding them around. He'd do laps saying "toot, toot." Then we had a discussion about how one of the engines was pulling a caboose. "Pulling a 'boose," he said. Then Leda would stop what she was doing to swoop in monster-style and grab pieces of track to chew. Eventually, Cole turned one of the curved pieces into a "gate" and was running them off-track asking me to "close the gate" behind the vehicle when it was outside the loop.
It's honestly the first time I think I've ever really felt like he was playing WITH me, not around me or using me as a prop. There was interaction and conversation and I love these new moments to teach him things. Every time we read a tractor book he loves I never miss the opportunity to show him that the plow is turning dirt so the farmer can plant seeds and things can grow. That lesson isn't in the book. It's dad-added.
So many things, I find, are dad-added. Things someone else might think to teach them, but are unique to us. It's the reason I stay home.