The work/school week can get so busy and turn into just a blur if we let it. Our girls get the worst end of it at times, by the time we pick them both up from their respective places, get home, eat supper and get ready for bed. Therefore, I’ve tried to use my sabbatical to break up that monotony, make week nights fun and productive, and hopefully create habits that will carry on after my sabbatical ends.
Disney Scene It was so much fun when we had our Swat Tournament at work, but we hadn’t taken the opportunity to play it at home since I’d bought the game. Emily, my oldest daughter, is only 5, and still too young to have seen most of the shows associated with the first edition. She has been dying to play the game, but having played it many times at work, I knew that it took quite a while and kept putting it off. So recently, I knew what we had to do. It was a beautiful rainy day outside, and Will made some pizzas so we could get supper out of the way. We sat in the living room and played Disney Scene It. Emily did awesome! She asked for a little help on some of the questions, but her proudest moment was on all play when we were supposed to be finding the missing item, and she shouted “MAGIC BEANS! It’s the magic beans!” This was the correct answer, and she beat Will and me to the answer without a doubt. She did not win, but told her dad good job and asked to play again, which made my heart swell.
Emily and I baked chocolate chip cookies tonight. We waited until after supper to try them. They are absolutely delicious. However, when bringing them to the table, Emily brought me the one with the least amount of chocolate chips and said it’s because I “don’t really like chocolate very much”. Will and I quietly laughed and we enjoyed our cookies. One day, Emily will realize that it’s not that I don’t like chocolate, but that she loves chocolate.
Emily’s school had an Open House that we attended, and it was completely student led. Emily didn’t know beforehand that we were going, so she was excited when I told her. It was a student led event. The school is doing The Leader in Me, so I was highly impressed. The principal of the elementary is one of Will’s classmates. From the time we walked through the doors, the students were directing traffic, holding doors, and helping out. Emily showed us her classroom, her stations, what she’s been learning and answered all our questions. They served a meal afterwards with students as the servers there, too.
Children can teach us so much that we have forgotten or given up on. They always ask the question. As adults, we often stop asking after a few failed attempts. When I first started working for FDLIC, I asked my dad to switch over to direct deposit, his bank is in Abilene so it made sense anyway, but his answer was always the same, “I have to go to Abilene to make deposits anyway,” or “I’m going to an appointment and can just stop by the bank”. I was at the funeral home picking up Emily (she rides the bus to the funeral home since Will and I both work and someone is always there), and Ryon told me to tell him again to switch to direct deposit, so I did. Which version of his norm did he give me this time? “Sure.” Sure! All it took was asking one more time, using someone else’s name, and signing him up right then when he said “sure”.
My hope is that when my girls are older, they remember us sitting in floor playing games, they remember baking, they remember the colored bags from Meals on Wheels and the smiles they received, and they remember falling asleep in Mom’s arms while waiting on the car to be fixed. I also hope that I never forget the love that I see in their eyes, the compliments they give me on a day I don’t wear makeup or get dressed up, or the hugs they give.