Our Five Ring Circus: Stop what you're doing. Go. Play.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Stop what you're doing. Go. Play.

I didn't play with my kids today.

Those words bounced through my head, as I tried to fall asleep last night.

I desperately raked my brain trying to remember a moment that I sat down and played. Sure, a few books were read in my arms, and I made them laugh a few times, but I couldn't remember sitting down and playing.

The guilt ripped through me, and I wanted so desperately to wake them up and play.

So I vowed to do better today. Just like I did when they were babies, I planned to stop what I was doing once an hour and spend quality time with them. To play with them with no other distractions.

So, I did. And it was great. Every hour I reminded myself to just stop whatever it was that I was doing, walk away, find my kids, and play. We read many books as we snuggled in the sunlight streaming in from the window. Dylan and I played a board game. We played for hours outside...I actually left my book inside this time.

It was worth it. The smiles on my kids faces showed me just how much the quality time meant to them.

There will always be dishes in the sink, bills to pay, a house to clean, an internet to surf, a book to read...but my children will not always be there. They are growing up entirely too fast, and will one day leave the house. And I will be wishing that I spent more time with them...

So, stop what you're doing. Go find your kids (or a loved one!) and have fun. If they are sleeping, peek in on them, and think about how blessed you are. They are what matter in life.

I may be a late-night blogger, but I'm going to log off, sneak into my kids rooms, and give them a big smooch. Then , I'm going to go to bed earlier than normal, so I am ready to play in the morning!

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10 comments:

  1. Thanks for the reminder. I've been super busy as of late, and today especially I realized that I was letting T just play by herself so I could get things done. And when I realized this, I thought "In twenty years will I look back and be happy with all the time I spent working on whatever task I had to complete, or will I be happy that I took every moment to enjoy and play with my daughter?" I know how lucky I am to have a happy, healhty daughter. But I also need to stop and play and enjoy more often.

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  2. Cute post. It makes me wish I had children now. :)

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  3. This is so ironic because I was just thinking of this very thing yesterday. I have had to make a point to do same thing and it makes me feel so much better!

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  4. That's such a great idea...I'm going to start doing the once an hour thing. To be completely honest, I don't actually play with the girls that often. I have so much to do on my days off I just don't think about it. But your post reminded me that while the housework etc piles up when I work, I also don't get to see my kids. That should definately be priority. So from now on, we're playing at least once an hour!

    In fact, I'm going to get off this thing right now and play Little People while we watch Tinkerbell!

    Thanks Stef!

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  5. i used to play much more. i need to get back into playing more again.

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  6. Thank you for this post, I am so guilty of not playing with Jimmy enough. I have gotten too caught up in the internet world. This week (and beyond!) I am going to make it a point NOT to blog during the day, until he is in BED. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  7. Thanks for the reminder. I think I'm going to log offline and go play with the boys.

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  8. So true~ i often feel the same guilt here. I'll go hug my kids..

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  9. I am guilty of not spending quality time with my kids too some days. There are always things to do. I have to remind myself to focus on these moments, because they won't last forever.

    Yay for you! Thanks for helping us all "re-focus." :)

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  10. I kept thinking about this post today, and mindfully stopped my own stuff to really engage with the kids. It's such a blessing / curse when they become more independant...it's great to be able to get some of your own stuff done but they still really need you, and still really blossom with your attention. Thanks for the reminder. :)

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