This weekend I took Lovegirl and her cousins to the zoo. We walked around, visited the “nice” animals (no lions or rhinos), sampled ice cream flavors - we went during the annual Ice Cream Safari, cooled off in the spray stations, and a grand time was had by all. When we finished up at the zoo, the girls wanted to continue the party. Off we went to Chick-Fil-A and back to our house where they watched the Backyardigans and played their little hearts out. All in all they spent about 7 hours together.
When her cousins left, Lovegirl told me that she no longer wanted to call me Mama. I was a little shocked, but managed to ask her what she wanted to call me.
“I want to call you Tee Mani.” Which is what my nieces call me (I can’t stand being called Tee-Tee!)
“I’m your Mama, why would you want to call me Tee Mani? I love being your Mama.”
“Tee Mani is more fun than Mama.”
Ouch!
While I have always taken my job as a parent seriously, our conversation got me to thinking that I do need to lighten up. Sure, the rules remain, she must obey, must be respectful – I’ll always be “The Mama.” However, she also needs to see me having fun, laughing, enjoying life, doing things that bring me pleasure.
Sunday afternoon, I walked past the piles of clothes needing to be folded, left the dishes in the sink (gasp!), and ignored the little handprints on the front door. “Tee Mani” and Lovegirl spent the afternoon at the pool – playing, laughing, enjoying each other’s company, just chillaxin’. We had a ball!
Welcome home, Tee Mani!
How sweet! I really enjoyed reading this post. Hearing about children always brings a smile to my face. How cute is Lovegirl? I want to call you “Tee Mani!” Kids are so precious! I can’t wait to have one of my own.
Btw, oh how I wish there was a Chick-Fil-A in my area. I used to love eating that in college. You’re lucky!
Good for you letting your hair down to enjoy the day! I have to remind myself to do this more often, its nice to relax and enjoy your children instead of focusing on rule enforcement every moment of every day.
Aww. Good for you. I haven’t learned to relax yet…