Monday, October 16, 2006
So today I'm at the playground talking to a lady with one kid. She looked at my gang and said, "Are you planning on having more?" I said I was. She said, "You must really enjoy motherhood to have such a big family."
The statement startled me. I never thought about whether I enjoyed it or not. It's a job to me, an obligation. I love my children, and work hard (generally) on my parenting. But enjoy it? And then I thought, "Well why don't I?"
I realized because I'm not spending enough time with them. I mean, sure, I'm a housewife. I'm home with children (some or all of them) all day. But what am I doing with that time? I'm cleaning the house, or doing laundry, or even taking care of them. But I'm not hanging out with them, having fun. I want to change that.
Tonight we played when Yaakov went to shul. We played "telephone." We played "Simon Says." They rolled on the floor pretending to be bugs. I laughed. The dishes didn't get washed, but that's okay. We had fun.
Love, Maven @ 
5 Comments:
At 6:49 AM,
n/a said…
Most of us confuse "enjoyment" with "entertainment." You "enjoy" raising your kids in the sense that you'll take joy from having done it throughout your life. On a day-to-day level, though, it's not always entertaining (though your blog certainly is).
At 12:42 PM,
Anonymous said…
Good "work" Maven!!
I think there are actually scientific (terrific!) studies that show how good this is for kids- having thier parents play with them. I read a book called "Playful Parenting" and one of the liberating things it mentioned again and again is about the need kids have to rough house! Not that I especially love rough housing, but its an interesting perspective! Also the book talks about why tickling is not such a favorable form of rough housing, because it forces laughter even when the kid(or grown up) being tickled is absolutely not in a laughing mood.
At 3:33 PM,
Anonymous said…
You know what? A kid won't remember if his house is spotless, or if his sandwiches were pretty, or if the ironing was done. He will remember when his Emma was being silly and having fun with him, because that is even more proof that she loves him and is the bestest Ema in the whole world! (And in the long run, what would you like for him to remember?)
At 6:24 AM,
Wendy said…
Excellent! I find it's much easier to have "fun" with the kids as they get older. Plus, it's easier to do the house stuff because they get so much more independent. I absolutely love the ages of my kids now 7-11.
I try to remember that they'll be the kind of parent that I show them a parent should be. That helps me make choices!
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