Special Time

With six kids, I carry constant guilt because they are always forced to make sacrifices on behalf of their siblings. Many times throughout the day, I have at least two kids needing my time and attention, and I wish so bad I could give them each exactly what they need exactly when they need it. Some examples of this include:

  1. Waking you up early from a delicious afternoon nap to pick up an older sibling from school.
  2. I can’t make it to your sporting event because I have to stay at home with the other kids.
  3. You can’t take that expensive extracurricular class because we can’t justify spending the same for everyone.
  4. You will wear hand-me-downs and you will not complain about it (in truth, all my kids LOVE hand-me-downs).
  5. Your sibling will finish the last of your favorite cereal.

With that constant guilt hovering, I am constantly looking for ways to carve out special time with the kids. Sometimes, special time is really really special (like when I took Evie to Ireland for a last minute long weekend), but usually special time is something small like a trip to Starbucks or the local Jeni’s Ice Creams Shop.

The other night I had a 7:45 appointment at the Apple Store to fix my phone. I could have snuck out of the house to enjoy a few quiet minutes on my own, but the mild October night offered more. So, I whispered to Evie “put on your bike helmet and meet me in the garage.”

We pedaled down the dark city streets to the Apple Store. We then biked a block over to stop for gelato and conversation. Now that Evie is in fifth grade, she has a lot of big thoughts and observations. I’m so grateful she shared a few with me the other night.

I wish so much I had more hours in each day. More time to spend with the kids and less time spent on the running of a busy household. But, then I remember that everything I do, I do for them. Tasks as mundane as wiping down the countertops and folding laundry are, in a way, special time.

And, really, isn’t all time…special?

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