…there’s a place that i dream of, once in a lullaby.
Four and a half years, every night without fail, I sang this song to my little Daisy. But then number 2 daughter arrived. BAM! I tried to spread my attention between them at bed time but it became easier for me to take care of baby and leave Daisy to her daddy.Last week it suddenly hit me, where has my little girl gone? Have I lost her without realising it?
Every day I kiss my first-born goodbye, tell her I love her and off she merrily skips to class with not a care in the world. My heart was crushed when she shrugged off my kiss the other day. I accepted it, thinking it was because a boy she likes was watching us, but when I jokingly asked would she rather I didn’t kiss her anymore and she said ‘yes’ I nearly cried. She’s only 7 and I’ve been so wrapped up in her little sisters challenging behavior I seem to have missed her becoming so cool and grown up.
Why is parenting such a guilt trip? How is it that you don’t realise what you’ve had till its gone? I decided I needed to readjust my attention and spend some quality time with just Daisy while she still wanted to spend time with me.
Why is parenting such a guilt trip? How is it that you don’t realise what you’ve had till its gone? I decided I needed to readjust my attention and spend some quality time with just Daisy while she still wanted to spend time with me.Anything you want to do, the choice is yours today. She chose shopping of course. The Wonka sweet shop (Charlie’s Emporium) to be exact. Every child’s dream. We filled up on sweets and went for a pasty (her choice again – daddy’s girl!).
She’d also decided she wanted her ears pierced which i wasn’t keen on but i try to let my kids make their own choices. I had to really bite my tongue when her little eyes filled with tears because she hadn’t believed it was going to hurt. ‘But my friend said it wouldn’t hurt!’ she cried. I resisted a ‘told you so’, gave her a big cuddle and remembered my little bean.‘This is the best day ever!’ She beamed, recovering over a milkshake shortly after.
I was so happy that I had spent some time with just her. No rushing around or agenda and certainly no having to leave somewhere due to her sister having a tantrum. We talked about lots of silly things together and I realised that I don’t stop enough to listen to them. Is that just me?So thank you to my good friend who regularly dates her son. A date with your child seems a strange idea, but we all realise the importance of dating our partners as our families grow (even if we don’t find time to actually do it), so why not our kids? Go out, just 2 of you and spend the day together, letting them make all the choices and just listen.
And to Daisy, if you read this…Thank you sweetie, you are amazing.
You are my joy and I love you.
I hope that all the dreams that you dream,
Really do come true.
a field somewhere 
You got me crying there you bugger! X
Very sweet – and I can sympathise 100% with your sentiments! After our Gwen was born, I felt as though little Austin (2 years old at the time) had become a stranger. We’re re-connecting now though. Just posted about it on my blog, in fact!
Will take a look at it. Thanks for dropping by.
What a lovely, lovely thing to do. I sometimes have girly days with Grace but like you I don’t feel like I listen to my daughter enough or give her my full attention. It sounds like you had a fabulous day :). Thank you so much for the visit to my blog xx