But, if that's all I had in my life -- it wouldn't be very rewarding. Because a happy life is ALL ABOUT BALANCE.
One of my favorite OTHER jobs is being Aunt Rita. My nieces and nephews have brought huge joy to my life. But they're all busy adults now...
Luckily, I have THEIR children for my Aunt Rita moments. If they're going to remember coming to Aunt Rita's house...I have to make the time...NOW...
Because I understand HOW QUICKLY THEY GROW UP...
On a recent beautiful fall day -- 2-year old Memphis came for a rare visit. She is a quiet, observant toddler...For the first two hours, she kept assuring me that her Daddy was coming to pick her up....
For lunch, we were joined by Cash -- who wanted Memphis to understand that he owns this house...I believe she was impressed with his ability to break eggs into a bowl...but she was a little unclear about his special rules for the Domino game...
Memphis's brother, Landon, got off the bus here. I planned a cookie baking activity -- he figured out a way they could do it together. Landon was delighted to be making something he could take home to his Mom & Dad...Memphis was focused and determined...while Landon was non-stop talking...wow, that boy can speed talk....
Oh, yeah -- kids are a lot of work. A day with THREE of them damn near killed me. I lapsed into a coma the moment they walked out the door. But when they grow up, I hope they'll fondly remember their rare days spent at Aunt Rita's house...
As the years go by -- I understand that the time I spend with these little people is more important than anything I could possibly do in my work life.
And I take great joy in these simple moments.
I sew agree with you on sharing moments w/kids while they are young. I call them my rentakids. I have taught several of them how to sew & knit. They share my love of reading. We usually have a great time, although we did return one child 'broken'. (He broke his femur while we were hiking - and he was only 4! That was really hard)
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