Friday nights used to be magical ones. It was the start of the weekend, a time filled with excitement & energy & hope for an amazing two full days off from school/work. While I still look forward to our fun filled weekends, Friday nights are mostly hard for me. By the time I get to the end of my Friday workday, I'm so exhausted from our busy week I want to curl into a little ball & hibernate for the next month or so. As lame as it sounds, I'm often in bed by 8pm. Actually, there are some Fridays that I want to get into bed before 8pm, but then my bedtime would be earlier than yours...& that's just not going to happen.
This past Friday, I wanted a bedtime as early as possible. I was tired, & I really just wanted to lay down & watch TV. You wanted to spend time with Daddy & I. There was a pile of Kiwi Crates you wanted to tackle. There were board games you wanted to play. Your plans were basically the opposite of my plans.
Except I knew that you would likely pass up your activity filled plans if we offered you a couple hours of cartoon time. I also knew that due to your rocky morning, we had told you that there would be no TV time that day. Sigh. I turned to Daddy. Couldn't we just be bad parents and let you watch some TV? Sure, we had told you that there would be no TV that day, & I know how good parenting is about following through with the consequences we've set. But I was tired & I didn't feel like being a good parent that night.
Daddy had told me he would go along with whatever I decided but also gently reminded me that your bedtime was only a few hours away & how much it would mean to you for us to just sit down & play. Augh, Daddy just had to be the voice of reason that night, didn't he? So, I said bye to my dreams of my bed & we sat down as a family. We worked on Kiwi Crate crafts. First, you & Daddy made & decorated a glow worm that you named Rainbow Brite Worm Glow. Then we all sat at the dining room table & created Jellyfish. We read about jellyfish & glow worms in the wild. Afterwards, we giggled as we all enjoyed Jelly Fish races. We ended the night with a fun round of the Lady Bug Game.
You know what? We truly had the best night. I was so glad I opted out of my lazy Friday & enjoyed family time with you & Daddy instead. Yes, I totally need that lazy time sometimes (especially on Fridays), & I can't say that I won't struggle between spending precious time with you & having some moments of peace & relaxation. But that night, what I got out of working on some crafts & playing some board games with you & Daddy was so much better.
I love you so,
Mommy
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