Talk Time

About a year and a half ago, I was having a very tough time as a mother. I felt like I was so busy doing the day to day things that I didn't have time for my girls.  There were many days when I realized I had gone the entire day without even making eye contact with my children. I didn't know what to do about it until I received the prompting to spend time talking with them one on one. I thought it was crazy at first but eventually worked out a way to do it. Now it's a tradition that both the girls and I look forward to. Once a week at the end of the night, all the girls get some quiet reading time while I take one girl into my bedroom at a time and talk with them for about ten minutes. We get comfy on my bed and they tell me whatever they want. Emma and I always read a book and sing several songs while she runs circles. We go through her ABC's and numbers and practice spelling her name out loud. And we always finish up with Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam while she jumps on my bed. Ashlyn likes to tell me what she learned at preschool and her favorite part of the day. I love that her face lights up as she talks with me. She also likes to have me read her a book and we practice her ABC's and numbers. I also make sure she knows her full name, her date of birth and how old she is. Then we finish up with Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam while jumping on the bed just like Emma. Sadie and I talk about whatever but she usually likes to focus on what she did at school or at dance. She's funny too because she loves to be goofy and is constantly moving while talking with me. She's either bending her body and head in crazy positions or she's rolling around or crawling deep under the covers. She always feels like her time ends too quickly, as do I. Kali also talks about whatever but often focuses on the books she reading or her friends. She's growing up so quickly and we already talk about boys and about girl problems. I can tell the time I spend with her makes her feel so good. I'm so grateful to have been given the prompting to do this because it has changed my relationship with my girls. I feel like they know they can talk with me about anything and that is so important to me.