What a day with my kiddos today! They were both super cranky after school. My oldest son, Louie, hasn’t been eating enough at school and that is always a sure recipe for disaster. My youngest son, Zack, has been complaining about everything lately. He doesn’t want to go to school because he doesn’t like going on a morning walk, or his neck hurts, or he didn’t get a bagel in the morning and that means he can’t go to school and the list goes on.
Back to the basics
Rather than getting aggravated with them this evening, I decided to go back to the basics. My mom made them their favorite spaghetti and meat sauce dinner, Lebanese style. Louie’s exact words were, “Zack, how often does Teta (grandma in Arabic) make us American food. It may look disgusting, but it’s delicious.” He gobbled a whole plate full and his brother did the same. When bellies are full, life is good in my household.
A soak and a magazine?
They were starting to ask for popsicles and football after dinner but calmly told them we weren't going to do that tonight. I told them I was going to let them soak in my bathtub with their favorite bath toys. They love the idea of a bubble bath, so they were all into that. Louie asked me to turn the lights off and light all the candles. I turned on the jets and just let them soak away. At one point, they were laying side-by-side all relaxed in the tub. I felt all their tension from the day melting away.
After the bath, we went back to their room and read the latest “Humpty Dumpty.” They sat there mesmerized by stories of corn mazes and autumn moons. They asked me to read a few more books to them to which I answered, “Of course!” They chose books that I used to read to them when they were two and four. I must’ve read these books over fifty times to them, yet they both sat there listening as if it were the first time. It was time for our nightly prayers and lights out. No one of them fussed about anything and having been sleeping soundly since.
A quiet evening goes a long way
I think my boys needed a little quiet and normalcy. Transitioning back to school is tougher than we allow it to be for our kids. After a few months of summer with no schedule, having to get up and be “on” all day is tough. I think I’m on to something though. Louie asked me if they could have another bubble bath tomorrow night.
Your thoughts ... I'd love to hear them!
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Maybe, I ought to go sit in the massage chair right now and allow myself a little quiet time too!
Mary
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