Things in the Positive Chi household have been bustling. Why? Because a toddler is in residence for a nice long visit and believe me, nobody bustles like a pint-sized vessel of curiosity, joy and climbing ability. I’ve learned to get in my necessary work time and my valued “me” time during naps. Each moment needs to be used wisely.
What a great lesson!
I’m also well aware that each moment with Little Miss needs to be used wisely. Allowing her to help with a task means allowing double or more the time needed for completion…but it also means watching her copy my movements and, even more entertaining, my phrases. I’m not prone to using strong words (and by this I mean expletives). Good thing. And then there’s the need for frequent reading breaks, where we MUST sit in the reading spot with mommy pig and baby pig on our respective laps and we often have to have a pillow behind our backs and one book turns into three or perhaps even three readings of the same book.
So life goes right on down to that moment. That moment where I am not bustling. I am not Getting Things Done. I am snuggled up with a warm little form who loves me and tells me so, who nestles on my lap or against my side and fills in the punch lines of the books we have read again and again and again and who turns, right in the middle of Go Dog, Go (which, if you like, I can recite without benefit of the pages) and plants a great big smushy kiss on my face. Yes, life goes right on down to that moment. That small moment. The moment that is keeping me from getting busy with all my other stuff.
Ahhh, what a gift. Because that moment is not just a part of life with a toddler. It is not just part of life as a Nan. That moment IS life. In its most perfect and joyful essence. That moment is…everything.
It is a reflection of the past, when her mommy sat on my lap in just such a way and I had many of the Dr. Seuss books memorized…a skill that came in handy one day at an airport when things were not moving quickly and an entire sitting area of cranky passengers grew quiet and nodded in time to my spontaneous rendition of Hop on Pop.
It is a mesmerizing connection in the here and now, during which I gaze into her astonishing blue eyes and see energy from her mommy and her daddy…from her daddy’s people and from me…gazing right back at me.
It is a glimpse into the future, when this little one will learn and grow and continue to both amaze and amuse me with her spirit, her will (which can be a very VERY strong will indeed), her mind, her…self.
This IS life. And I don’t want to miss it by being busy on the computer or busy leading a group or busy doing any number of things that add up to…well…busy-ness. Yes, some things must be done. But while I am sitting, reading, snuggling, playing…in those moments I want to simply be with the Little Miss who offers up a cup of pretend tea, requests a favorite book or pours out her building blocks and waits to see what we will create.
Nothing on my To Do list can compete with that.
Positive Chi Blessings 