28.9.08
things to remember when i'm a mom
01. read to them and let them read to me. even if it takes forever.
02. paintbrushes and a bucket of water on a sunny sidewalk creates instant and harmless masterpieces.
03. call the babysitter and tell them how much fun the kids had with them the other night.
04. don't try to do too many things at once. be present in the moments. don't rush the doing.
05. carry snacks. and bubble gum.
06. believe in the power of the bribe.
07. don't assume that every restaurant and/or home is child proof. watch them close.
08. let them make decisions. (but not every decision. remember who's in charge.)
09. make a journal, documenting things they say. it's too easy to forget.
10. take pictures. not just when they are dolled up on sunday mornings but even on the days when they dump rice krispies all over the sofa.
11. eat around the table together more often than not.
12. praise them. say sweet things about them on the phone when they're still in the room.
13. keep dating my husband. try to find more subjects than the kids to chat about. remember to ask him about his life too. even if mine gets super overwhelming. remember what it's like to be thick in a career.
14. make family traditions. even simple ones like kissing them before they get on the bus, cutting their sandwiches in silly shapes or going on sunday evening walks.
15. create cute nicknames for them.
16. write notes and stick them in their lunchboxes. even when they are too old for lunchboxes, leave it on the bottle of orange gatorade in the fridge.
17. volunteer at their schools. be available to bring forgotten homework or to fix their wig for the halloween parade.
18. hang up their artwork. put favorites in frames that descend down the staircase wall.
19. go on trips with and without them. let them see the grand sights of world. but remember to be a person all by myself too.
20. remember what's really important: children wearing hannah montana sneakers, not that important; exercising agency, very important.
21. buy them the book of their choice; let them learn to love to read.
22. sing them each their own lullabye and say prayers every night.
23. be on their level. play with them on the floor. hold them in my lap. ride roller coasters together.
24. tell them all the reasons why they are special. again and again and again.
25. say i love you. because you can never say it enough. yet refrain from yelling it to them from the car window on the first day of junior high.
PS: this is borrowed...i'm not this creative.
