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I call it, “The things that make our hearts sing. Makes us Shine inside and out.”
I like mine better 🙂
Ever heard the saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” Well, insert “Franticmommy” and “girl” and you’ve nailed ME. I don’t play well. Even with my kids. I don’t know why. I feel clunky and odd when called upon to play a rousing games of Dinosaur World or Teddy Bear Hospital.
Hubby on the other hand…completely different story. He IS a big kid in a compact 49+-year-old-bod. He can run shrieking through the house with them and is the best “hider” during Hide-N-Seek. I often joke I have 3 kids and he’s the most work. But during those moments, his Sparkle is off the charts.
I may not play well, but I am learning. That’s one thing about kids, they help you find your Sparkle.
Many Easters ago (after The Meal) I suggested a game of Easter Egg Hunt and offered to go outside and hide plastic eggs for my then 5 and 8 year-old.
Four “hiding” trips later, one of our guests laughingly asked, “how many time are you gonna hide those things?”
AS MANY TIMES AS THEY WANT.
My kids’ Sparkle is the ability to live in the moment and be “all in” during such a simple thing as pulling plastic eggs from trees and swing sets. In turn, to help them have fun is what makes me Sparkle.
Life moves fast and my then 5 and 8 year-olds are now 10 and 13. Because life moves so fast, and my “littles” don’t stay “little” very long I opted to step away from the high-paying (and toxic) 9-5 job over fours years ago. At that moment I also said good-bye to an overwhelming workload, trying to keep up with juggling multiple projects, trying to impress those who truly could care less about me and missing way too many of those Sparkle Moments in my kids’ lives.
Life is still busy and the kids are forming their own likes, habits, hobbies and independence, but I still look for those Pockets of Sparkle….those moments that help me shine, or help make my beloved Small Humans SHINE.
And when I am doing things I love and enjoy (like the work I do now as a blogger, freelancer and VA), it makes the few-and-far-between drudgery moments easier to tolerate because I know I can take and break and return to the task later. It not only makes me happier, but it’s give me plenty of time to fine-tune my “play skills” and help me live-in-the-moment… like those little kids all those years ago so deeply immersed and present in a game of Easter Egg Hunt.
Sparkle Award {click image to buy your own Sparkle Award Magnet for yourself, or someone who deserves to know how special they are 🙂
Who and What makes YOU shine?
