Mommy and Daddy School: Fulfilling Little's Dreams

This post is carefully titled.

That apostrophe s is really important.

When my 5-year old (C) asked if she could join in a family tradition this year, I was curious.

The summer before my eldest (M) started Kindergarten, I asked her if she'd like to have a sleepover with Mommy. I knew she was nervous about being away from home all day, eating lunch at school, (in our case) wearing a uniform, finding her mommy in the car line after school.

The week before school began we planned a lovely evening for just the two of us that included building a clay castle together, doing up special hairstyles for Mommy and daughter, and talking about our wishes for the new school year. She slept cozy with her animals and covers, and I slept (not quite as cozy) on the floor, on a charming little "bed" she had made up for me.

That first celebration was two years ago, and it's become a back-to-school tradition now. C, having heard about the special moments had been hoping/waiting for her turn to enter Kindergarten so she can experience her rite of passage.

I'll admit, there's a lot to get done with the weeks leading up to school. I have my mental checklist that I'm trying to tick through every day. So, when C asked if she too could have an evening with Mommy...I thought, how am I going to do this?

And then I looked into those gigantic blue eyes and realized, there would be a way.

"What do you want to do for our night, C?" I asked. I braced myself for the answer. My children, thank God, have exquisite imaginations, and are not shy about dreaming big. Her response:

• Could we eat Reese's peanut butter cups?
• And maybe watch Beauty and the Beast together?
• And can you paint my fingernails?

In my head, I was thinking, "Really, that simple? That's all she wants?" I asked her if she'd like to do anything else, and she looked at me with excitement and said, "that would be the best day ever, Mommy."

I about cried.

Could fulfilling a dream of my daughter's be that simple? She just wants to hang out with me and watch a movie, while I get to eat chocolate and paint fingernails? That's such a little dream.

But really, it was a little's dream.

And I was reminded again how the simple moments we spend with our children (and one another) can be the stuff that dreams are made of...even when we don't realize it.

I believe that sometimes we're not fully aware of the little pieces of Heaven all around us. And sometimes we overlook our own capacity to be one of those pieces.

I've got round 2 with M coming up on Thursday night and she has a movie, some hair fixing, and baking on her mind.

I can't wait...because in the process of these little moments, I'm fulfilling my own dreams of motherhood, too.

How will help someone live their dream today? I promise, it might even be something small..that you'll enjoy, too.

XOXO, MJ