First we snuggled up on the couch and read book after book. For the first time all week there wasn't anyplace we had to be this morning. When Emma got tired of reading we headed to the kitchen for breakfast. She wanted waffles and chattered on about Grandpa's big fluffy waffles. So we ate waffles and told jokes to each other as the sun began to break through the fog.
I trimmed her hair while she watched a funny show on the computer. She giggled and kept turning her head to see if I was watching her favorite parts. Once the golden ends of her hair lay on the floor around her we headed off to the shower. She was frustrated with my efforts to help wash her hair. She could do it herself.
She pulled out two outfits and laid them on the floor for me to see. One was a pair of gray jeans with a flowered shirt the other was her Rapunzel dress that she is famous around town for. "Which should I wear?" I feigned disinterest and told her either one was fine, but secretly I hoped for Rapunzel. Of course that is what she chose.
Can we play hide and seek? she asked. I convinced her to help me finish making my bed and put away the clean laundry before we played. She tucked in one side of the bed and fluffed the pillow while I did the other side. The clothes put away, the bed made and soon it was time for hide and seek.
We have our own special version of hide and seek that includes a lot of giggling. I count, Emma hides and as soon as I say I'm going to get her, she giggles. "Where is she?" I wonder and then listen for another giggle. It isn't long before I've found her behind a chair, in a closet or under a bed. I have to play the same way. Those are the rules. She counts, says she's coming for me and then I have to giggle. She looks and looks and I giggle just loud enough that it doesn't take her too long to find me.
After hide and seek she wanted to play hopscotch. So we found the chalk and headed outside. I drew a hopscotch pattern on the front walk, a different color of chalk for each square. I thought I would teach her how to really play the game, but she insisted that it wasn't the right way. The only way to do it was to simply hop one, two, one, two up and back. That's all there is to it. That was good enough for her and it was good enough for me.
I suggested a walk, it was such a nice morning and all too soon the nice mornings will give way to blustery winds full of snow. She slipped her hand into mine and we walked to the gravel pit to see what the machines had done. We hoped they had created some new sledding hills for us. We climbed all the way to the top of the hill on the east end of the pit. I'd never been up there. It was quite the adventure. Going down Emma kept looking back at me and shouting, "Follow my lead!" She'd go a little further and toss back over her shoulder, "Come on Mom, follow my lead!" I realized that I'd been following her lead all morning and I couldn't have been happier, just following her lead.
One the way home she wanted to race again and again. Her little legs flew down the road and I lumbered along behind her. Once she promised she would let me win. She showed me how she would run in slow motion. I couldn't help laughing out loud. She was so pleased and was even more pleased when I won the next race, thanks to her skillful slow motion run.
Back home it was time for lunch. I made us some hot cocoa since the chill air had nipped our noses and ears. She couldn't wait for me to make her favorite tuna fish sandwich so she nibbled on a waffle and sipped her chocolate while she waited. She begged me to tell one story after the other, "Tell me the story about the waffle and the pancake!" was the first request. It was a morbid tale of two breakfast foods who fell in love, but were fated to never be together. The pancake was stabbed by a boy and eaten in quick gulps. The waffle couldn't even hear the last proclamations of her love because the sound of it was drowned by the rushing of syrup pouring over his surface. Next she wanted a story about a pancake that made it to the floor. Oh dear! It's a little overwhelming sometimes coming up with the stories she demands. Still, I think she is keeping my mind young and fresh.
After lunch we headed to the couch again to read more books and then snuggled up for a little nap. All week I have rushed Emma from one thing to the next. Even when we were home I was too busy to pay much attention. She tried to engage me, but I sent her away again and again. Yesterday I felt so weary of my life. I wondered if I was living it in the best way. I felt like I was missing the most important things. I wondered what I could cut out, how I could hold on to what meant the most to me. A morning like this one was healing to my heart and soul. To allow myself to be led by my child for a few hours, to let her call the shots, to listen to her chatter and join in her laughter was the best medicine I could have received. I can't always spend my mornings like this. There is a lot to be done to take care of a big, busy family. But living like a child for a few hours clears my mind and makes me feel a childlike happiness that takes pleasure in the smallest of things. So today I am grateful for a little blonde princess to take me by the hand and lead me.
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