Madeus fell in love with this movie really young. For a time around 2 he preferred all live action movies and tv to cartoons. I loved the movie too and the main girl's name is Mahoney which is Maddy's middle name.
Anyway, a lot of the themes of the movie center around doing the unexpected and using your imagination. I can always use reminders to embrace these two important childhood insights.
A few weeks ago Madeus and I had an impromptu bubble popping dance just like in the movie and I am pretty sure I enjoyed it even more than Madeus. It felt so good to pop the bubbles.
Again the other night I was struck by the importance to sometimes break the rules and do something different. At bedtime, Madeus gets two books but he will negotiated for more, and more snacks, and more time for play, and more time for potty, etc etc. He is a negotiator.
On this night, I did not feel like I was going to pass out from physical exhaustion so I suggested one more book. Three beautiful little things happened because of this suggestion. First, he picked a book but then he said "Mommy, I am going to topect (protect) you because there is a monster in here." Than he carefully climbed over me and he said "Mommy, I am being really careful so I do not pop your bubble." (Madeus is working on keeping his hands to himself. One of our strategies is to form bubbles around people to give them space). I started to laugh until I cried because until that point I was not even sure he was listening to me about bubbles. Than, he grabbed me close and said, "Mommy, I love you so much." I cried. Yes. Madeus has stopped saying "Love Me" and has changed to "I love you." But it does not happen all that often and it melts my heart.
Anyway the moral for me and this has happened in the past is that sometimes breaking the rules is what everyone needs in the group. These little moments lead to unexpected moments that I would have never experienced and they revive me as a parent. Obviously, it can't be the norm but they are treasured.
1 comment:
I love this story! Josephine has gotten to the point where she asks for more and more stories before bed, so I usually try to prepare her for the last story, saying solemnly "one more." Sometimes, she understands but sometimes she is so sad that we can't read another book. Just last night, she was crying and saying "please" and doing the sign for "please" and it was so hard not to give in... But I like your happy story of when giving in isn't a defeat but a moment to be closer.
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