Those were the words that came out of my little one's mouth with only an hour left before bedtime. At this point I had options. 1) I could distract her and we could simply play until it was time to get ready for bed. 2)We could load up into the car and head to the grocery store to buy a box of kleenex since I've been out for the last 3 days and using toilet paper to blow noses. Or, 3)we could go on an adventure.
Many times I take the first route. It's easier. When it's an hour from bedtime I rarely have the energy to tackle an outing even if it's just to get a box of kleenex. When it's an hour from bedtime on a day when Jake is working late yet again after being gone on a cross country over the weekend and I haven't had a break at all, I really don't have the energy. Tonight was different.
Tonight, I stopped for a minute. I looked down at my girl and she looked up at me with all the hope and innocence I love about her. I knew then I wanted to spend the last hour of her day investing in her and showing her she is worth my time. God has blessed me with such a special little person I want to make the most of each moment we have. She said, "Mommy, hold my hand and let's just go."
I reached down and grabbed her little hand and out the door we went.
We were in the garage now and I needed a plan and quickly. So, I picked up a plastic bag and we each put on a pair of gloves. We began walking down our street. As we walked we talked. Okay, maybe we didn't talk exactly. She asked questions and I did my best to answer them. But it was great. We spent the next 45 minutes on our adventure. We filled our bag with all the trash we found along our path and talked about everything from brier weeds to butterflies.
As I was tucking her into bed she said, "Mommy, I liked our adventure and we even made our street a little cleaner for the next person."
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| Looking for some trash to pick up. |
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| Yucky garbage |
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| Loved our Adventure! |
What a great perspective. Sounds like a fun adventure!
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