I got to spend a night away with my daughter at a church camp this weekend. It wasn’t exactly a “vacation” because it was an event where I was in a leadership role, but it was a lot of fun! The best part of the whole thing was that I got to share a room with my daughter. We played board games, balloon volleyball over the bed, did facial masks, and stayed up way too late giggling. It was so wonderful to have that time with her!
I’m a stay-at-home Mom who works from home and I also homeschool both of my kids. You would think that the last thing I would need would be more time with my kids – lol! But this weekend reminded me of how important it is to have quality one on one time with each of them. As I was packing for our adventure, I decided that I need to do this occasionally with each of my kids so they get to have some time with me as a Mom and a friend. I have to spend a lot of time in the role of teacher/learning coach so it was really awesome to just relax and have fun. Of course, I should do the same thing with my husband as well, but that becomes more complicated because we have to figure out what to do with the kids. That’s another post for another day.
When I uploaded this very silly picture of us (can you believe I’m putting it on the internet?), I wished I had photos like that of the special trips I got to go on with my parents individually. My Mom and I spent a few days in San Francisco when I was in college. My Dad and I went to Mexico with one of his work partners and his daughter. My Dad flew to Europe and met me at the end of my study abroad trip and then spent a week touring around with me. We have a few precious pictures that we asked a stranger to snap for us. If we had only had iPhones with front facing cameras back then! Being able to snap a photo at arms length and see it instantaneously is a wonderful thing.
I’m feeling blessed to have time with my children in so many different situations. I know I’m lucky to be able to be such a big part of their lives. I know I’m lucky that my parents have given me so many cherished memories. And I’m amazed at what a night away with my teenage daughter in a dorm room can do for my spirits. So fun!
Have you been lucky enough to have a night away with a parent or a child? Just the two of you? Where did you go and what are your memories of the experience? If you’ve never been able to do this, where would you go if you could? All great things to document on a Memory Monday!
…
