My three year-old is inquisitive, imaginative, and delightfully verbal. She recently started preschool and she comes home daily eager to question the world around her. I am constantly amazed at how engaged she is in the topics they cover and how much she’s learned in a short month! She loves to ask, “What’s his/her/it’s name?” and “What color is that?” – clearly topics they work on at school. Some days I’m not certain I can come up with another name for the random objects around me, but I suppose you could say it keeps my mind sharp!
I headed over to Mama Notes this afternoon and discovered a lovely post about the joys of motherhood. Her words reminded me of the spontaneous fun my girl and I had yesterday. With Halloween approaching, my girl is eager to read Halloween-themed books and talk about the candy to come. The other day, she decided to dub everything “spooky,” as in “spooky popsicle” and “spooky jammies.” Yesterday, she invited me to join her on a ghost hunting expedition in her bedroom.
We left the lights out in her room, with slivers of afternoon light peeking in through the curtains. She and I sat at the edge of the door, my baby boy in my lap, and started our “hunt.” The game started out as your basic “I spy” with a ghost twist – “I see a ghost bunny.” “I see a ghost book.” You can never underestimate a toddler’s capacity to continue something fun for an indefinite amount of time, however.
Eventually, we had to stretch our spying powers to more minor things and then moved to utilizing adjectives. This was where the game really got fun. I would say, “I see a big ghost” and she’d follow with “I see a small ghost.” This didn’t always work perfectly, but it helped me see the concepts she understood and then emphasize some new ones. So, if I said, “I see a fat ghost” and she didn’t see a skinny ghost, I simply saw a skinny one the next time.
The three of us were thoroughly enjoying ourselves the entire time, giggling along the way. After we moved on to start dinner preparations, I realized what a fantastic time we spent together, simply enjoying the moment. It can be easy to spend time with the kids and let my mind sometimes wander elsewhere. The memory of our fun afternoon has brought a smile to my face all day and reminded me of the joy that comes from remaining in the moment. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mother!
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