Sometime during the month, I caught myself saying that Mia is not a baby anymore, she’s becoming a little girl. Time goes by so fast, but you just don’t know how fast until you wake up one morning and you find your little girl all dressed up in bangles and grown-up shoes. Somehow, my mind doesn’t want to accept what I’m seeing in front of me, wishing that time could just stand still for a while.
A good friend of mine always says that time is the great equaliser. We all get the same amount of time per day; it’s what we do with that time that sets us apart from one another. I love recounting my moments of time in moments of memories. Making treasured memories with the ones we love is our true wealth. No wonder that it’s said that children spell love as T-I-M-E.
This month, my memory bank has been filled with memories of my family. Janno started grade 1 and Mia had yet another vocabulary explosion, which made for very interesting conversations in our house. We soon realised that having Mia around when it’s time to do homework is not a good idea. While I was trying to establish a quiet, disturbance-free space in order for Janno to concentrate, Mia was marking her territory with squeals of high-pitched joy accompanied by loud banging, non-stop talking and dogs scattering to get away from the entire ruckus. I had to call in help from hubby to take on some extra responsibilities with Mia while Janno and I do homework in the afternoons. Edrick was thrilled to get some quality father-daughter time and I loved Mia’s recollections of their adventures. One evening, as Janno and I were finishing his homework, Mia came running out of the bathroom holding her head: “Dadda … head … ouch … ice!†Needless to say, somewhere during bath time there was a bump on the head that needed some ice. Sorry, Dad, she gave you away, but you are still the best dad ever!
Mia is not only talking my ears off but also following simple instructions, which is such a great help. “Mia, put away your toys.†“Go fetch your bottle.†“Put your shoes in your room.†These are all things we’ve been practising this month. A plus side to the vocabulary explosion is that Mia’s tantrums have subsided somewhat since she has been able to tell me what she wants. I encourage her to use her words when I see things are about to go to the floor and most of the time I get what she’s trying to say. I make a point of voicing what she wants, in proper language, by just including it in the conversation. Unfortunately, there are still words, like ‘twint’, which for the life of me I can’t figure out – and then we spend some quality time on the floor with a proper tantrum. This too shall pass and in the meanwhile I enjoy filling in the blanks of her two-word-sentence conversations. It’s priceless!
MommaMia Tip: We are all wealthy moms and dads with so many precious memories safely tucked away in our hearts. Memories with our family are indeed priceless – remember to treasure every moment.