Little Moments

I don't claim to have it all together. I am certainly not perfect. But sometimes you hit on something that works that makes you and your child deliciously happy. In those little moments you find the depth of love and joy in not just being a mom but in knowing your child.
M and I found our little moment almost by accident. Actually, it came from purely selfish motives on my part. I had no idea what we were stumbling upon. Tuesdays were my grocery shopping day and M's day off from school. So I would pack him in the car and off we would go, stopping at our local Safeway first before heading into town. As all worthwhile Safeway's do, ours had a Starbucks in it. I am a sucker for a blended coffee drink and rarely passed up an opportunity to treat myself to one (after all I was going to all the work of buying groceries for my family). Ok, so my justification is lame at best, but it worked for me. For any mothers of small children out there you know that when shopping with said children every second counts. You have to move quickly before the dear sweet darling of a child poops out on you. Stopping for coffee, does not usually aid in this endeavor. But I had a moment of genius one day when my 4 year old son was waiting impatiently (read here touching everything and talking to everyone and moments away from wandering off to something more interesting) for me to get my well earned reward. I bribed him! Yes, you read that right. Mom of the year award goes to me. I don't usually condone bribing and it is actually one of my pet peeves, when parents try and buy off their children with some sort of reward. But I succumbed and it has turned out to be one of the best things for M and I.
What did I do exactly? Well let me just tell you. I said 'Hey, M! (in my sweetest most enticing mom voice) Would you like some hot chocolate?" Of course he jumped at the chance to get something and so I ordered my coffee, he ordered his hot chocolate and then we sat and drank it at one of the little tables. We chatted and enjoyed our drinks. It was fun. And from that moment on "coffee" dates became our thing. We have so much fun drinking our drinks and chatting about everything. I truly get to enjoy being with M. And when we moved away from our Safeway with the Starbucks it didn't matter, because we do coffee dates at home. He sips his hot chocolate and I my coffee and we get to know each other, relishing the little moments that tie us together.
Coffee and hot chocolate may not be your thing. Don't dismay! Pay attention to the rhythm of your life and your child's. What things do you everyday? or every week? The mundane boring stuff (like grocery shopping) is where the memories will be made because it happens all the time. Take a look and see what you can turn from just another shopping trip into coffee dates with your child.
M is 5, I don't know how much he will remember but I will always remember and cherish these sweet precious moments with my son.

 

I am linking up with Graced Simplicity