Spaghetti Noodles

My world this week has been a bit overwhelming and full.  At work, we are in the process of moving into a new office and there are so many details that go into that kind of undertaking.  The week has left me tired and drained and I've had absolutely zero time just for me.

There has been little time for anything else too. 

But last night was different.

Todd had to work late, so I made the most of my time with Tommy.  We ate dinner together at the table - he loves that he can sit with us now and no longer in his high-chair.  Afterward, we made creations with Playdough.  I might be thirty-one, but I still get the same kind of thrill making "spaghetti noodles" as I did when I was a kid.

Perhaps every child is programmed to want to mix the colors together.  I remember wanting to do that at one point when I was little and being told that I couldn't.  Last night as we played, I tried to keep the colors in their own separate piles.  I even told Tommy, "Let's not get the colors all mixed up okay?"  Apparently I can be a little OCD about things.  And he replied, "Why not?"

Valid question.  And one I didn't have an answer for. There really was no reason other than me just not wanting to see all the colors get "messed up."

So I said, "I don't know buddy.  Why not?  Let's mix them together.  That sounds like way more fun anyway!"


So we did.

There are now specks of hot pink in with the turquoise and the white is now a very light shade of blue.  I love how even simple things like letting myself relax about whether or not the Playdough colors get mixed together is a taste of redemption.  A place where I am loving him well and just letting him be a boy.  And maybe when Tommy is thirty-one and making things out of Playdough with his kids, he will encourage them to mix the colors together too.  Because why not?


If we really let ourselves quiet down and really listen to them, kids make so much sense sometimes. 

 

The whole evening felt restful.  Even though parts of me would have rather just gone to bed or spent the night vegging in front of the TV and numbed out to the world, it was exactly what I needed.  

Even a day that has been full of work and busyness - when it can end with "spaghetti noodle" making and all of the other little games he invites me to play with him....those are very best days.