busy slowing down

It’s a cliché to say that children teach you to ‘stop & smell the roses’. It’s also true. They stop to smell the roses. They strongly suggest I do as well. There are days when tired is not a strong enough word. There are days when coffee & sunglasses help. There are days when they pick flowers & draw butterflies & say “mummy it’s for you”. There are days I don’t find time for coffee & I can’t find my sunglasses. I wouldn’t say we’re too busy. Just busy having fun. Busy letting them play. Yes busy with ballet & swimming & pre-school & photo shoots & location scouting & editing & home life & taking care of two children. Also busy slowing down. Busy in a world where everything takes a little longer. Busy teaching a 4 year old who takes her scooter everywhere, to stop at driveways. Busy travelling down the street with a 2 year old who pushes her dolly & her puppy named ‘Alexander’ in a little stroller & stops to collect anything that can be collected along the way. Busy making our way around a supermarket with the most helpful little girl who carries the basket with me & makes suggestions about what we should buy. Busy finding said additional items in my shopping basket when I am at the counter & explaining to miss 2 why I am putting them back. “We don’t need pet food because we don’t have a pet”. Busy forgetting my pin number because it’s always fun to do that when you have a line of people behind you & two children asking if they can go on the ride they can see in the distance. Busy eating our lunch in the park with piles of story books. Busy looking for Anouk’s toy kitty named ‘Bolognese’ who goes missing on a regular basis & is always “needed” just as we are about to walk out the door. Busy making faces out of fruit & filling cups with hot chocolate & playing games of snakes & ladders & teaching my youngest to wait for her turn & my eldest that it’s not all about winning (she’s not convinced). Busy letting them bake. Busy letting them eat the sugar that lands on the table. Busy not letting them eat the sugar that lands in the bowl. Busy having friends over to play. Busy feeding the ducks. Sharing milkshakes. Pretending to eat the play dough pizza they bring me & making sure I convince them it’s delicious. Enjoying longer days. Walking down the street & eating dinner by the bay. Picnic dinners are my favourite thing at this time of year. Stopping past the used book store & letting them search for a new book. Somehow it’s more like treasure when you find one you love by accident. Glad that even though I suggested the books I liked, they chose the ones they liked instead. Watching Ava pretend she is flying when she’s on the swings. Saying yes when she asks if they can do painting & watching her paint sunsets all afternoon.