Monday Musings: An only child for a day

This past Saturday two out of three kids had plans for the day. The whole, entire day.

One did not. Elizabeth had the whole day off.

Don had a lawn to cut, a pool to clean, gutters to fix, a garden to weed.

I had a list a mile long of things I needed to pick up from all over the place.

She had two very not-exciting agendas to choose from: his or mine. She chose to hang with me for the day, which suited me just fine. It’s not often that I get a ton of one-on-one time with my kids that does not involve a visit to a doctor’s office followed by a field trip to CVS for a prescription for whatever the illness of the day is, and even that is sometimes a package deal.

So even though we had lots of errands to do, I was hopeful that she’d still enjoy her day. I joked with her that she was an only child for the day, and off we went.

We started out with a fast food lunch at the location of her choice, something we never do. I even ordered a kids’ meal for myself, in order to get her two toys instead of one, which she thanked me for, because it meant that she could give the extra to her little sister. We chatted about her upcoming birthday party plans and made a list of things we’d look for in our travels. We talked about a movie she just saw. She told me about how it’s made by the same people as two other movies she likes and I asked her which of the three movies she liked best, and I really listened to her answer, impressed by what she said.

We held hands going in and out of stores and I thought about the fact that soon she’ll be too old to want to hold my hand much longer.

She pushed the carriage, crossing items off the list as we went along. We scoped out good bargains and got a good gift that we needed. We went back to that same fast food spot, but in a different location, and she got an ice cream cone, another treat.

All in all it wasn’t anything crazy or unique that we did, but it was a fun day no less. I know that had I realized in advance that she’d be alone for the day, I would’ve tried to make more of it than it was, somehow try to make an event out of it, because I know how I am. But I didn’t have advanced notice and the day was what it was, and only that. Yet, she seemed to enjoy it, and I know I did too. It made me thankful for the time I got to spend with her and reminded me how lucky I am to have my girls in my life, each special in their own way.

But most of all, it reminded me to enjoy every minute I have with them, even if it is just a trip to the doctor’s office. Life goes by fast and every minute counts. We don’t need to make an occasion or an event out of the time we spend together, and if we wait for those times to become occasions and events, we’re likely to miss the moments that are right before our eyes, as life passes us by.

That smile kept me going all day long.