By the time the clock strikes 7:30, I am DONE.

Tonight, was different. There was laughter, singing, dancing, and SO much fun. Fun. Who has time for that these days right? We’re all so busy. There’s laundry to fold, homework to supervise, diet trends to track, statuses to read and compare ourselves to, activities to pin and never do…..it’s a full life we lead. (And yes, that’s sarcasm you’re detecting.)

I danced my two year old across the kitchen floor, ice skated on the linoleum in my slippers, and belted out “Dead or Alive” with my husband. We giggled over words that make four year old boys smile. (You know just what I’m talkin’ about.) Tickle fights. Silly dinner games. Oodles of snuggles. Jokes. Stories. So.Much.Laughing.

Know what? For the first time in a looooonnnnngggg time, bedtime wasn’t a chore. I wasn’t dying to just get those kids in bed and have my tv fix. I wasn’t longing for quiet, or dying to have a few minutes alone with the laptop. The mess in the kitchen didn’t seem very important, and the emails I’d ignored all day were no longer urgent. I forgot about how I “needed” to get the new email subscription link up on the blog and wasn’t worried about planning out the rest of the meals for the month. I was PLAYING. There was FUN in the household once again.

The fun? It transformed an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, typically stressful evening into a memory. This was the kind of day our kids will remember. When they are grown and think back to their childhood, they will recall their parents singing crazy songs, extended tickle fights, and living room dance parties. I can pretty much guarantee that they won’t be talking about ANY of the crazy duties I put so much value on.

They went to bed happy, full of love, and feeling good about their family. And me? My stress melted. My worries went away. For an hour or so, all of the stress and garbage of “reality” wasn’t quite so important. I relaxed. I let go. I dared to ENJOY my family. I reclaimed the magic that lies within the everyday humdrum of parenting. We get so caught up in the blah-blah-blahs that we MISS the JOY. Those kids we have a ton of fun with every blue moon? News flash. They’re there…..all the time. And you know what? They are just waiting for the joy. Take this advice…it’s coming from the mother of four who is all-too-often caught up in a bunch of nothings….Find the somethings. Claim your joy. Make a memory. LIVE. PLAY.LOVE. Because when it comes down to it, that’s all that really matters.

 

*This post is part of a new feature here on Chasing Supermom called “Daily Encouragement.” My new  mission statement for the blog is: “Supermom” is a myth. Let’s get real. Real ideas. Real encouragement.  So, let me encourage you. Let me lift you up each day…inspire…validate…bless….the way your support and readership blesses and encourages ME. Love you guys.