We are in the middle of moving and this week has tilted me completely off center. There’s no morning schedule of coffee then oh-shoot-we-should-be-out-the-door-already. The kids have missed their 2pm chill out time with Peppa Pig and I have missed sitting down for that millisecond between getting someone’s juice and fixing the zipper on someone else’s backpack.
We sat down at dinner tonight and I really sat and looked at this table full of people who are mine. We played the “What was your favorite/least favorite thing you did today?” game. I received the usual answers from the appropriate:
“I liked when we climbed on the bunk beds.”
To the whaaaaat?:
“Daddy does not have a dinosaur. Do circle people have a dinosaur?”
Everyone was still almost sitting so I tried another round of questions with: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
We started off strong with “a make up designer” and then “a monkey!” and then nose-dived with the token answer for everything “poop.”
The table collapsed into giggles and I started to get up and clean plates because there’s no recovering a conversation once bodily functions are brought up, but my daughters words stopped me.
“We need to hold hands boys.”
They gave the appropriate response to a big sister and went to hold her hand, no questions asked.
“There, now we can do more laughing. Laughing is better when you hold someone’s hand.”
I needed to hear that this week and every week that goes by so quickly that I don’t see what’s right in front of me. We need to hold hands and have a good laugh, even if it’s about the lofty goal of floating in someone’s toilet.
The laughter matters just as much as the person next to you echoing it right back.
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Love this. Laughter is certainly better when you hold someone’s hands. And poop is the new favorite word here. Gross. 🙂
Smart girl you have there!
Everything is better when we hold hands. So true. Beautiful piece, Jessica. I love how you always find a slice of beauty in the chaos.
Oh gosh… I love how profound children are without even realizing it.
There is nothing better than solidarity when you need to laugh 🙂
She is so right – laughing is much better when holding hands. Good luck with the move!! Happy Mother’s Day (this Sunday and last one too). xo
I always cherish our dinner-table conversations. But, yes, they do often end in the discussion of bodily functions. My kids favorite is changing the names of common objects or characters to include fart or poop in the name. I need to let these conversations happen more. So we can laugh, and hold hands, together.
Oh my goodness if this isn’t what life is all about:
Pouring juice and fixing zippers; poop and dinosaurs.
Holding hands and laughing with the ones you love.
Yes. That right there.
From the people who are yours.
Oh yes I needed to read this. To hold a hand and laugh. Yes that is definitely what I needed. =)
Physical contact when laughing makes that giggle turn raucous. It makes what was barely funny, then a touch of shoulders as you smile, turn into uh oh, we’d better leave this library. I love that she knows this already. Also, poop.
I love this entry and the answer for everything ”poop”! I laughed when I read this! Small children always give funny answers and make everyone laugh!
wow! Is that a Ralph Laurent shirt? Your son has a great sense to fashion, doesn’t he?;)
Laughter is best when it is shared. This is lovely!