A day at home

Last night the children had their annual "Holiday Tea and Sing".   Their school rents a large auditorium and the children from all of the classrooms gather onstage and sing a series of culturally diverse Holiday songs they have been practicing for the past several weeks. Afterwards, the parents, teachers, and children gather together for Tea and Cookies that the children baked in their classrooms.  It is an adorable night.  Hearing the children shout/sing and so earnestly perform all of the hand motions to the songs is just delightful.  

And it makes me fully realize that they will only be this special age just once and for such a short period of time.  

So, it should have been no surprise to me that when the children woke up this morning and started playing a bit, I didn't rush them into their clothes and out the door like normal.  I let them play and play and play.  

The whole day.  

I sometimes plan to do this --take a break from school and just enjoy being with the children. We usually do something planned and fun-- like make crafts, visit a local attraction, decorate for the holidays.  But, this was the first time that we stayed home just because.  

Just because they are little and precious and the days go by all too quickly.  

So yesterday we played together the whole day at home.  We played babies and puppies and doctor and a couple of new pretend games of library and zoo.  And at times the children preferred to play just with each other and I was happy to stand back and observe the world from their perspective and see their imaginations in action and see how they delight in and participate in the world around them.  So, yesterday I had the wonderful chance to see them eat their snack with no hands from a plate on the floor "just like puppies" and to hide from a big green dragon in Alexander's tent and to squeeze hand soap onto the shower floor to "practice skating".   All the cliches are true-- it is impossible to anticipate the joy and love that you'll have as a mother.  It is really the most amazing gift.  

Today is a new day and the children happily went off to school where their friends and teachers and "work" awaited them.  And I am home looking at their little slippers, little books, and little clothes and missing them terribly.  But I don't feel sad.  I just miss them.  They are off experiencing their lives and growing and blooming and I will be there to catch them back in my arms and to delight in all that is new about them.  And to look forward to the next time that we just take a day off to play, play, play.