Today is Friday, so I thought I would share with you a special moment I had with my sons this past week. I work an odd four-tens shift which requires me to work every other weekend with two weekdays off. Those weekdays are either Tuesday and Wednesday or Thursday and Friday. Up until recently, either my husband or my Dad would watch the boys while I was at work. My husband who used to work nights lost a lot of sleep when he watched the boys during the day. Now that he is back on a day shift schedule, we are thankfully able to have our boys go over to either my Dad's or my sister in law's house while we are both at work. Long story short, my three year old has yet to be in a day care or preschool environment that encourages social interaction with kids his age. After an agonizing "I'm a bad Mom" bout of self pity, and after looking at the pricey preschool rates around our area, I suddenly had a thought about what one of my friends did with her daughter in preparation for kindergarten.
The Play to Learn Program hosted by the Tacoma Children's Museum is a free program that is offered to children and their parents. The program is offered at several different libraries in Pierce County, and the location depends on the day of the week. Most preschool programs have class for two hours, twice a week. The Play to Learn Program runs for 90 minutes, Monday through Friday. Because I have two days off during the week, I will be able to take the boys to class twice a week. This past Wednesday was our first class together and the boys loved it. We were the first to arrive so the boys did not have immediate sensory overload other than all the toys and mats that were set out. As the other families started to trickle in, the boys naturally gravitated towards the other children and it was a lot of fun to see their interaction. It was by no means a mishap free experience, but for the most part my boys were well behaved and willing to share.
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| I did not take this picture. Please click image for original source. |
Towards the end of the class, the teacher started to blow bubbles, and when my three year old saw what she was doing, I just about cried because of how much his eyes lit up. I looked over at my one year old, and he stood there, not knowing what to think. The expression on his face was of wonder, a calm and quiet reverence, and then all of a sudden an insatiable need to catch the bubbles. Even though he was trying to reach out for the little bubbles that were floating around, he did not notice the bubbles that had already landed on his clothing and the two that landed perfectly on top of his head. I had this feeling that could only be described as a moment of grace; that knowing feeling that you get when you see a life lesson play out in front of your eyes. Here my boys were, trying to catch the bubbles, sometimes getting frustrated, and sometimes getting overwhelmed by the thrill of the chase. There was no question that they were having fun, but they also did not even realize that some of those sought after bubbles were on them the entire time. From this quiet moment of observation came a big reminder to myself that even though it is human nature to want to chase after something, sometimes it is already right there with you.
Well friend, I thank you for spending some time with me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. May we continue to run after the bubbles in our lives yet never overlook the ones that have effortlessly landed upon us.
Until Next Write,
Teresa
@untilnextwrite
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