Surprise

Not that I really want this to get out, so don't tell anyone you heard this from me, but yesterday I was home with Hayes because it's summer and I was lax in planning anything for him to do this week, and I really enjoyed myself and my child.

I generally dread these sorts of unplanned days. In my heart I believe it's good for him not to be scheduled to death, not to have so many activities do go to that he has no time to be a kid. But I also feel annoyed when I am his only playmate and we hit about 2 o'clock. He's bored and needs entertaining and I feel for him but don't necessarily enjoy playing army men with him, or the 100th game of laser battle, and let's face it, I'll have to make dinner soon.

But yesterday, just as I am feeling this familiar sinking feeling, I got a second wind. We decided to make strawberry ice cream together and it was, well, it was fun. Hayes measured out everything and even suggested adding chocolate chips (which I am convinced he would add to ANYTHING given the chance). It was like a scene out of a Martha Stewart magazine. And then, as the ice cream was freezing, Hayes had this brilliant idea to invent a game called Stick Bomb, and it was fun. We must have played it for 2 hours. You can see pictures of it on his blog. And when I look back on yesterday, I realize I actually enjoyed myself and my son at the same time, all day. This may not seem like a minor miracle to anyone else, but for me, it is. I mean, I have fun with him at times, lots of times, but it is rare that we can spend a whole day together and still enjoy one another at bedtime. Yesterday was one of those days.

I'm not expecting to have more of these days. I mean, I'll take them if I can get them; but it's good to remember that we can have times like yesterday. It's no secret that I don't enjoy the stay-at-home-mom routine. But a surprise is always nice.