Date Night with My Little Guy

Around here three kids makes life very busy. Throw together naps, temper tantrums, dance/swim lessons and other commitments makes for a very busy family schedule. My car seems to circle around the same five mile radius. Good thing there are several gas stations and grocery stores in the radius. Revin Roger calls my car the bus and I am the bus driver. My next goal should be a CDL licenses so the local bus company can hire me. Can you image driving a 50 kid vehicle. Yikes!

As crazy as life is, I would not change a thing. We are all healthy and happy. Sure there are areas we could improve on but none of us are perfect. There has only been one perfect person on this earth and it is not us. (I love to use this line on egotistical adults.) One area Bryan and I are working on is to create a special time/space for each child. One of our core beliefs is each child needs to be reminded they are unique and deserve to have uninterrupted time to talk with their parents. The goal is to keep open the lines of communication for today and the future.

To accomplish this, we have created "special time." (We need to find a new name for our creation, but this is working for now.) The unwritten guidelines state special time is alone time between one child and parent. Secrecy surrounds the entire time together. Unfortunately, by the end of the day all the juicy details are spilled because the kids leaked like an old pipe.

For Bryan it may be as simple as running to the hardware store and then out for a donut. He has been known to visit the ice cream shop right before lunch. Grrrr. I usually go after dinner so we can stop for something sweet. Why not? I let the child chose the location. Amazing Ann likes Starbucks because they have cookies. While Wild Regan likes Panera because of their hot chocolate. Revin Roger likes the bakery up the street for their donut holes. Granted none of this is good for our cholesterol or waist lines. 

I usually hear about troubles at school. How a certain dancer wants a break this summer. One child can not wait for all day school but thinks the bus is cool. A little boy tells me how he wants to be a super hero when he gets taller. 

Tonight was Revin' Roger's turn and he called it a "Date with Mommy." He proudly proclaimed to the cashier that he was taking mommy out. He did not pay for this date - we need to talk. I am a modern woman but if your going to brag you have to pay. Then of course, his piggy bank was light this month. I can not tell you what we talked about but can say we had a good time. As we were walking out, the casher gave him a wink. He loved it!

In the end special time works for my family.The only tears that come are when it is time to leave or when it needs to be canceled. 

Any suggestions on what we should call this time? Special time seems a little creepy.

Sharon, The Mayor