Making Memories

Reprinted with permission from Chicken Soup for the Soul.

After eating breakfast, my little girl says, "Mommy, will you watch this show with me?" I look at the breakfast dishes in the sink and then at her big brown eyes.

"Okay," I say, and we snuggle together on the couch and watch her favorite show.

After the show, we put together a puzzle and I head for the kitchen to wash those dirty dishes when the phone rings. "Hi," my friend says, "What have you been doing?"

"Well," I say, "watching my little one's favorite show with her and putting together a puzzle."

"Oh," she says, "so you're not busy today."

No, I think to myself, just busy making memories.

After lunch, Erica says, "Mommy, please play a game with me." Now I am looking at not only the breakfast dishes but also the lunch dishes piled in the sink. But again, I look at those big brown eyes and I remember how special it felt when my mom played games with me when I was a little girl.

"Sounds like fun," I answer, "but just one game." We play her favorite game, and I can tell she is delighting in every moment.

When the game ends, she says, "Please read me a story."

"Okay," I say, "but just one."

After reading her favorite story, I head for the kitchen to tackle those dishes. With the dishes now done, I start to fix supper. My willing little helper comes eagerly to the kitchen to help me with my task. I'm running behind and thinking about how much faster I could do this if my sweet little one would just go play or watch a video, but her willingness to help and her eagerness to learn how to do what her mommy is doing melts my heart, and I say, "Okay, you can help," knowing it will probably take twice as long.

As supper is about ready, my husband comes home from work and asks, "What did you do today?"

I answer, "Let's see, we watched her favorite show and we played a game and read a book. I did the dishes and vacuumed; then with my little helper, I fixed supper."

"Great," he says, "I'm glad you didn't have a busy day today."

But I was busy, I think to myself, busy making memories.

After supper, Erica says, "Let's bake cookies."

"Okay," I say, "let's bake cookies."

Continued on page 2: 'We've been making memories...' »