Some days, being a play-at-home parent is mentally and emotionally (much less physically!) exhausting. Some days, I feel like all I do is fuss and fight and punish my child. Some days, I REALLY miss having an office to go to or wish someone else would spend the day with my child (knowing full well he would behave like a little angel for anyone but me.)
Today, though, I LOVED being my little boy's mommy. Lately, I guess, would be more accurate. He's still getting up WAAAAYYYY too early in the morning. (I recently bought a stay-in-bed clock on ebay that should arrive tomorrow. Will post more on that another time.) But other than that nasty little habit, his behavior seems better and his temper more even-keeled. But today was epically fun!
It started off with him coming to lay on his dad's side of the bed while his father was in the shower. We snuggled for a few minutes. Then he reaches over, strokes my cheek, and calls me "Sweetheart" in his inarticulate, sing-song, three-year-old voice. So precious! We go to the gym, come home, eat lunch, he naps, yadda-yadda. I asked him what he wanted to play after he had his milk and he said "Basketball." So we go play basketball in his closet (which is large enough to double as his playroom. Seriously.) I love that every time he makes a shot, he falls into me for a giant hug and giggles uncontrollably. (Although I do hope he outgrows that particular habit by the time he's in competitive sports in school, for his own sake!) He missed several shots in a row at one point, and I could see him getting frustrated. I told him to slow down and keep trying. Three shots later, he finally makes another goal. He was so excited and proud of himself! You could see that he had determined not to quit until he made another shot. He sank onto my lap for a cuddle and declared he was done with basketball for the time being.
So we played kitchen. Still in his closet. After he was done "cooking" whatever concoction he was making this time, he decided to pull EVERYTHING out of the play kitchen. I didn't mind as long as it was picked up eventually. Once he was done, he wanted to play with his millions of blankets. I reminded him we have to clean up one thing before starting another. He actually sang the "Clean Up" song by himself! And he actually cleaned up (which was even more impressive than the song.) I know it seems silly and trite, but I'm so impressed when he's actually happily obedient and agreeable to "chore" type activities. I guess maybe him being three isn't the worst thing in the world. He then decided to pile all the blankets on me (as I'm stretched out facedown on the floor) and sit on my back. Then he decides I'm a horse. So he starts bouncing up and down on me saying, "Yee-haw!" I don't know where he got the Yee-haw from, but I couldn't stop laughing! He then puts away most of his bedding, save one blanket which he decided to drape across his shoulders and declare, "I'm super!" (This was also a new one to me; never done or said that before.) I asked him, "Are you Super-Jack?" "Yeah!" he said delightedly. Then he went to get another blanket back off the bed, threw it across my back and said, "Super-Mom!" BEST. WORDS. EVER!
I can't even remember what we did or played after that. All I knew was that, no matter how rotten the bad days are; no matter how often I want to string him up by his toenails; no matter how crazy or angry or sleepy he makes me; I am honored and blessed to be his mommy. And I am beyond privileged to get to have these small middle-of-the-day moments with him. Yep. I love my job!
