Today I was a Fun Mom

I don't know what got into me today. Maybe the fact that we've been passing a cold around our family for the past two weeks but are now all feeling better. Maybe the fact that Christmas is fast-approaching. Maybe the fact that my son's third birthday is even faster-approaching. Maybe for no reason at all. But, I know that today, today I was a fun mom.

As opposed, that is, to a strict mom, a mean mom, a yelling mom or a boring mom. Today I was fun. Today I let my son play in the bathroom sink with his cars and get himself and the floor soaked. Why not? Clean up was as easy as a new shirt and toweled off floor. Today I let him mix his yogurt into his grape juice. Why not? Maybe I'm developing a future scientist. And, guess what? He drank it up and proclaimed YUM! at the end. Today at the park, I ran around and played with him, went down the slide with him and swung next to him. Why not? It was too cold to stand still anyway and besides, we were the only ones there. He would have been pretty lonely without me as a playmate.

Yes, today I said yes to fun. Messy, gross, exuberant fun. Why not every day? Why do I normally give in to my instinct that playing in the sink will just make a big mess, that yogurt and grape juice would be gross mixed together, that my fun at the park is to sit on a bench and check my e-mail on my phone?

When I look back at my own childhood, my fondest memories are the ones where my mom let us have fun in totally unexpected ways. One afternoon she let us empty all the cupboards to play store. Imagine that! Another day she built us a huge tent in the backyard. I am certain that these days were the exceptions but they were just plain fun and they are what have stuck with me.

I know that there will be plenty more times when I don't allow the dinnertable to become a time for food experiments, when I will spend our time at the park checking my phone and when I'll feel as though I have spent the entire day saying "no" rather than "yes". But, I hope that I am the fun mom often enough that it is days like today that become my son's strongest childhood memories.

Original post to DC Metro Moms. Aimee writes about the times she's a fun mom, a mean mom and every time in between at her personal blog www.smilingmama.blogspot.com.

Comments

jodifur said...
I hear you on this. I feel like I never get to be a fun mom! Good for you.

Claire Jess said...
Sounds nice! It's all in the attitude (she said knowing full well you gotta have some clutter tolerance and the time to deal with it). I went to a conference recently where a mom suggested having a "Yes Day" scheduled for every so often. My problem is when all the things they want to do conflict with each other!





Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!