A Date with My Daughter

I've been feeling overwhelmed in motherhood lately. I have three children who often are talking to me at the same time, and I can't listen to all of them!
My eldest needs quality time, doing stuff together, to feel loved and connected and she hasn't been getting much of that lately. She has asked me if I could play a game... I didn't want to or couldn't at the time. She then began asking me about going on a date together and it just sounded like another thing I had to do... Or another thing I felt guilty for not doing...

Then she made me this!!

"Mom, You are my best friend!"

My daughter drew me a picture of an envelope on pink card stock paper, with the cut outs of her traced hands as if holding and giving me the card. 💓 I thought it was sweet and thanked her immediately.

But then she asked, "Did you read the back?"

"No, I didn't know it had a back," I said.

So I went back to her "card" and flipped it over and read: 

"You do a lot for me and I would like to have a date with you on Friday night, this week at 4:00 to 7:00. 

Please and thank you mom!"

*Heart melted*

My sweet daughter not only acknowledged me and her love for me but she had the courage and maturity to express her needs (quality time) and ask for a reasonable fulfillment of that need (going and spending time with mom alone). I thought that was wonderful and showed so much growth (she's 11)

So Friday night rolled around, and honestly, it sounded like another thing I had to do. I also didn't want to get trapped into doing something elaborate and expensive and have my other daughter want and expect the same thing (who was already trying to compete with her older sister for a mommy date).

So I picked something simple. My daughter has wanted to play games with me! She wanted quality one-on-one time. We didn't need to go to dinner or a movie or do something fancy. We needed to spend time being together. 

So, I picked our old date spot, Starbucks. I got her a "grown up" drink of decaf coffee with steamed coconut milk and we sat down to play games.

We played SORRY, which I lost but was fun. Then we played Treasure Island which was incredibly irritating and confusing as even my daughter didn't understand all the rules and I had never played before, but I played for her and she appreciated it. Then we played cards, Rummy, my favorite. We played till we ran out of time, smiling, talking, and laughing.

"You are a lot of fun," I told her and she beamed.

My lessons from this day:

1. I'm incredibly blessed women to have children who love to spend time with me.

2. Why do I put some of my blessings in my "obligations" category? Having fun with my kids is my gift as their mom, not an obligation I need to check off my list.

3. It's ALWAYS worth it! Taking time for relationship is ALWAYS worth it and never comes up void.

Much love,

-Joy