our laundry game

Dear Em,
There were days when I only got things done when you were sound asleep. I planned each & every second of your sleeping hours way in advance. As you slept I did laundry, dusted, cleaned bathrooms, vacuumed, did the dishes...I used every second as best I could. After a little while I began to realize I was leaving no time for myself.

Don't get me wrong, I actually loved every moment of it. You were the miracle I had been dreaming of for as long as I can remember. I loved caring for you & our home, but at some point I started to feel like I was losing pieces of me.

This year I've been working on making more time for me. I'm enjoying reading again, blogging, exercising, enjoying time with friends, & connecting one-on-one with your Daddy. As is life, when you make time for some things, it eliminates time for others. Between work & home & you, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that I struggle to get it all done. As much as I would love love love if we had someone to tidy up our home, that's not going to happen (unless we win he lottery).  So, I have to multitask.

That's how our laundry game started. We put on some music, I pile all the laundry in the middle of my bed, & you sit down next to it. In between rolling around in it & throwing it in the air, you pick the items of laundry out of the pile & pass them to me. As I fold, you giggle & talk to me about what I'm folding, what color it is, what shapes are on it, & whose it is. Then you pass me the next item.

You fling the socks in a separate pile. Your favorite part is matching socks. I ask you for two pink socks. Your face is deep with concentration as you pick through each sock & find the first & then the second. You love to match the colors & the shapes all by yourself. A proud look spreads across your face as you match each pair, & you exclaim, "yay" each time.

When it comes time to put everything away, You plop down on the floor & read books by my feet. Is it weird that I almost look forward to laundry now? It's a fun & special time we share together. I know our fun game probably won't stay fun forever. For now, it's a way that we can have talk & learn & giggle & dance all while we get things done.

I love you so,
Mommy