A few weeks ago, my seven year old started practicing “back bends” and was absolutely ecstatic when she was successful at doing it. Now, she wants to teach me, her mother who’s definitely not as flexible, how to do it. This got me thinking about how flexible we must be as parents, especially during these COVID restriction times. I may not be able to literally bend over backwards for Quinn, but I am more than willing to bend over back for her figuratively.
I don’t ever want my daughter to doubt the love that I have for her. I want her to always feel she can come to me, and that I will be supportive and help her in any way I can. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to literally bend over backwards with her help.
I just couldn’t allow this Thanksgiving weekend nor Sunday go by without posting how grateful I am for my daughter and our puppy Zack. They both put a smile on my face and give me hope.
A few weeks ago, my daughter and I went to the Franklin Institute for their social distancing Halloween event and had a great time. Our day ended with her cajoling me into buying a $40 Snap Circuit kit. At first, I was hesitant because of the price, but after reading the box and knowing how much she enjoys doing projects, I knew it was perfect for her.
Yesterday, she did a couple of projects: lighting and LED egg and snapping circuits for a musical doorbell. She did these all by herself with me filming for her YouTube channel. I immediately wondered, “Where was this kit when I was younger?” I had to wait for science class in higher grade levels to do one of these projects.
My seven year old really loves the kit, and I do too. I even recommended it to a friend whose kids love projects too. I’m actually quite excited to do some of the projects with her during winter break.
For the first time in a long time, I failed to post a blog entry for the week. Little did I know, my daughter really looks forward to reading them and let me know early on Monday that she noticed there wasn’t a post. I felt so bad. Last week got away from me, and I was so busy working on her Halloween post that I forgot all about mine. It certainly didn’t leave me feeling like “Wonder Woman.”
Though Halloween was yesterday, the fun of the day’s events were so memorable. Something else just as memorable that has become a tradition, and I hope will remain, is our mother daughter costumes. This year, we were super heroes and even included our puppy Zack. My seven year old is definitely makes me feel like a super hero. She keeps me going, and her words, hugs and smile have a way of making me feel invincible.
I love exercising. It’s my way of not only staying fit but relieving stress and turning off the negatives of the world for just an hour or two. On occasion, my seven year joins me. Little did I know how closely she’s been watching me and how much of an impact my exercising has made on her.
Quinn loves doing Youtube videos and decided to do an exercise video for her latest post. She came up with all of the exercises she wanted to include on her own, and I was pleasantly surprised when she said, “Mommy, I want to include boxing as one of my exercises just like you!” As she recorded her video, she said that I was her inspiration.
As I watched her hit the bag and do her other exercises, I thought to myself, “Wow, Quinn is my mini me when it comes to exercise!” She actually inspires me to keep going in knowing that I am her inspiration.
Who knows, maybe we will do a mother and daughter exercise video one day and inspire other mothers and daughters.
Ever been scrolling through your phone and come across random pictures you don’t recall taking but quickly realize that your child had a little fun taking selfies? As tempting as it may be for some parents to delete them and possibly admonish their child for taking crazy pictures, silly selfies or even using snap chat and different filters, I find myself smiling and chuckling at the pictures my seven year old takes.
When I was her age and well into adulthood, I struggled with self-esteem and lacked confidence. Though I enjoyed taking pictures of other people with my Fisher Price camera, long before the days of phones with cameras and cell phones in general, I was often nervous about taking pictures and had an awkward, forced smile. Sometimes, I wonder if I had an opportunity to take wacky, silly selfies if I would have been more comfortable and confident as a child and young adult.
Quinn uses my old cell phone through wifi, so any pictures she takes automatically are added to the cloud for me to see, and I just love seeing her smiling face, pursed lips or tongue hanging out in a crazy way displaying her not only her confidence but innocence too. Of course, there’s a thin line between being confident in one’s self and being self absorbed, so I try my best to model the right behavior. Also, selfies do have the potential to become an issue if filters become the norm, so we often talk about taking pictures and using filters for fun and how I love seeing pictures where it’s just her being natural with no filters at all.
I’m so glad my daughter has selfie confidence, and with virtual learning and her being at home even more, I’m sure she won’t disappoint by having more random pictures appear through the cloud in the weeks and months to come.
Since my daughter was a toddler, she would ask if we could meet her dad at the train station so that we could all walk home together when he arrived from work. Since a March, my husband’s been working from home and only reported to the office a handful of times. So when he went into work a few days ago, my seven year old said, “I have an idea! Why do we meet Daddy at the train station? It’ll be Zack’s first time too!” Zack is our toy poodle puppy.
Though we take neighborhood walks often, walking to the train station to meet my husband reminded me of we must appreciate the little things. We’ve had so many fun moments and great conversations on our walks. As we waited for my husband’s train to arrive, I thought about how simply walking to the train station and waiting on a loved one to arrive is a luxury and a moment worth embracing.
When his train arrived, Quinn started cheering, and Zack’s tail started wagging in overdrive. I couldn’t help but smile myself as I imagined this simple task eventually being the norm again.
Just like that, summer break is winding down, and the new school year’s about to start in the coming weeks. With this summer quite different from the past ones due to COVID 19 restrictions, I tried my best to be creative and even asked my seven year old to come up with a list of activities she hoped to do. We successfully tackled most of the activities on the list and even added a couple along the way.
Though we did cancel her postponed birthday party, we still had a great time at a restaurant with outdoor seating with my sister and niece. With a smile on Quinn’s face, she said, “I had a great summer, Mommy!” There’s so many memes circulating about how 2020 is the worst year ever, so it definitely puts a smile on my face knowing that despite all of the negative circumstances my daughter still has a positive outlook and enjoys the little things, just like her mom 😊.
This morning, it just occurred to me that we’re just about five months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and though some restrictions have been “lifted” or modified in my area to allow people to return to work, exercise and dine out, we’re still nowhere close to being back to “normal.” Even still, I’m thankful for all that’s been revealed during these trying times.
This summer is quite different than many anticipated, but whenever my daughter and I go on a walk, play at the park, or are simply out and about, a smile most certainly would be revealed underneath my mask and under hers too. While I was initially concerned about my seven year old feeling disappointed about the limitations to our outings, Quinn actually said, “I’m just glad that we get to spend time together and are healthy, Mommy!”
Several people are having so many revelations as they make sacrifices and continue to adjust to these ever-changing restrictions, and I’m no exception. But when I look at how well my daughter is handling everything, from wearing her mask to using sanitizer and being conscientious about washing her hands to just going with the flow, it makes it that much easier for me to do the same.
When I was younger, I loved coloring. Who am I kidding…I still love coloring; it’s just a matter of making time for it! But when it comes to making time for my daughter, I know how fleeting it can be, so I’m constantly trying to find activities that will not only be fun but will bring us closer together.
A few weeks ago, my cousin recommended the Me & My Coloring Book for Mom & Daughter by Latoya Nicole. I took a look at it through Amazon.com and loved the pictures, so I purchased it the same day. When the book arrived, and Quinn looked at the cover, she was so excited for us to use the coloring book. “There’s so many cool pictures in here, Mommy!” In some of them the little girl looks like me, and you look like the mom!” She decided on a picture that was all too familiar for us, “A mother and daughter eating popcorn and watching a movie.”
We sat on our deck with music playing in the background as we colored occasionally remarking on how we liked the colors the other person was using. “Next time, you get to pick the pictures we’ll color, Mommy!” Quinn said.
My daughter adds so much color to my life, so I’m grateful that I made time for us to color together.
Mommy's Baby Steps 