Mark started a tradition this year on Tuesdays. He takes one of the kids to breakfast at 6:00 a.m. on a "Daddy-Daughter Date" or for "Morning Man Time."
Today, the kids didn't get one-on-ones, but they still got special time with Daddy, because Mommy went on a jog with a friend. It felt great to start the day with exercise (you know I have trouble getting motivated to exercise, but a morning walk/jog with a friend was delightful).
When I got home and the kids pulled up, they were all smiles.
I'm so glad that Mark makes this a priority. I still remember dates with my dad in California when I was a little girl. We either got donuts oozing with pudding, or went to Baskin Robbins. I only ordered sherbet, usually orange sherbet was my signature flavor, until I discovered rainbow sherbet. I will always cherish those sweet memories with my dad, and I know my kids will feel the same way one day.
After Gryffy got home, he went to his letters. I'm trying to teach him how to spell his name.
Lorelei's trying to teach him, too. Now if we can just teach everyone else (we didn't exactly pick the traditional spelling of it, because we knew he'd be a little "Gryffin"dor). I love his name, because a Gryffin is half-lion, half-eagle, in mythology. That means my boy's Brave and Free, two attributes I pray over him and hope define the path of his life.
And I had to snap a photo of this, because it caused me to do a lot of reflection yesterday about my temper, which sometimes comes unhinged (usually with a lot of whining, which is the best way to push my buttons, the kids know). We had had a perfectly good morning yesterday, when out of the blue Gryffin came up to me and said "You cannot be mad." I suddenly felt terrible, and confused, because I worried that maybe he saw me as angry when I wasn't. Later in the day, I found this paper that had been written in the morning with the exact same words: "You kannot bee maad." I made the connection that Gryffy had said that to me because Lorelei had told him to. But then I started wondering, When was I ever mad this morning? Did I yell at the kids, and not remember? No, I was fairly sure I hadn't. But what I had said, somewhat sternly, was that if Lorelei's room wasn't cleaned, we weren't going to the park. Ding. Ding. Ding!
I showed Lorelei this paper at dinner, and asked her why she wrote this. "Because you told me to clean my room." Geesh, that took away a huge load of Mommy guilt, when all this time I was worried my kids just saw me as some raving mad person all the time.
But it did make me reflect upon those times I am cross or impatient with my kids, and was a very good reminder: they pick up on everything, and I need to be especially careful to speak to them with the love and respect I expect them to show back to me. Raising kids sometimes tries my patience, but it's part of life's Great Lesson--we are continually confronted with our own struggles until we learn to overcome them. God willing, I will become a more patient Mommy... I WILL become a more patient Mommy... (say it like a mantra with me!)
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