Yesterday I had the realization that I have finally settled into being a stay at home mom and… I love it.
The house is clean(ner), meals are healthy and home cooked, I spend all day long with my kids (and LOVE it), we get to explore our local area, and my mood and anxiety levels are 10,000x better.
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Watching Nate (9) and Aaron last night as they worked on Nate’s pinewood derby car, I had one of those gushy moments that I didn’t share with them, but I knew was one I’d remember forever. Nate was sanding his wheel axle, the radio was playing, and he was singing along. I love Nate’s voice and encourage him to sing as much as possible. I joined in with him and we shimmied and sang and he sanded. Watching my husband love my son, help him, and absolutely want to spend time with him is overwhelming.
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Sammi (7) has always been shy. Yesterday, I took her to a community activity and she was running, playing, laughing, joking, and interacting with all the other little girls. It was so very nice to see her starting to come out of her shell and feeling more comfortable around others.
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This morning, Gabriel (1) was exploring his environment. He is fascinated with the letter magnets on the refrigerator. He carries them all around the house, one in each hand, and tucks them into folds of blankets, shoes, and baskets. It’s always a fun game to try to find them all. A little hide and seek. So there he was, pulling the letter magnets of the fridge and putting them back on the fridge, over and over, as I made my breakfast. Then he paused, looked at the block he was holding in his hand, and wheels turned in his beautiful brain. (Yes, I mean that. His brain is beautiful.) He took the block and pushed it against the fridge and let go. Of course, it fell. He did this several more times, staring at the block in his hand as he picked it back up, turning it this way and that, and trying again. Eventually, he let the block stay on the floor and went back to magnets. No angst in this little boy. He tried it. It didn’t work. He went back to his original activity.
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Life is good.