Today I Stayed Home & In The Moment

We didn't have child care today, so I stayed home from work. I made a decision when I was in the shower this morning to try to spend the day focusing on the boys and cut out the noise that usually overwhelms my day.

It was nothing special. I dropped W off at preschool and then went to a meeting with other moms for the preschool's "fun-raiser." I picked him up, brought them home for lunch, played, walked to the park, played more, made dinner, and hung out. I didn't worry about laundry. I checked my email a few times and took one call for work, but otherwise I tried to live in the moment. I didn't check Facebook or Twitter all day. Honestly, I forgot about them. I didn't read a blog or the news. I realized that my cell phone was in the other room for a good 4 hours before I went hunting for it.

I lived in the moment with the two of them and just enjoyed a normal day. I don't ever do this. If I stay home I usually plan a play date or take W out for lunch or run a million errands. I never have a day close to what I did today. I got on the floor and played with them without running out to check on something. I always have something to check or get done really quickly. Always. I didn't check my phone or feel like I was wasting valuable that could have been spent crossing things off my to-do list.

I'm not saying you have to stay home with your kids, but that's what worked for me today. And I knew it made a difference for them, too. For the first time ever, W turned to B and said: "She's MY mommy." Apparently, I became worth fighting over. I'm not encouraging jealous behavior, but I'd be lying if it didn't make me smile.