Last Sunday around 2:00, my son’s naptime, I had a choice. I could get “stuff done” and do errands with my daughter or I could stay home with her and find something for us to do. I thought of a project that I wanted to get done. I wanted to dig a trench on the perimeter of a patch a land and fill it with rocks so that the rocks would be flush with the patio. My husband thought the project was a big hassle and that my daughter’s interest would be fleeting and that the family would be better served having our landscaper do it. Game on!
I gave my daughter specific tasks. She was super into it and was way more detail-oriented than I was. She especially loved being the water girl and making sure we were adequately hydrated. I especially loved when she went inside to get me a hair tie when she noticed how my hair kept getting in my way!
The project took about 2.5 hours which means my daughter had my attention for 2.5 hours and, for 2.5 hours, we worked on something TOGETHER. About an hour in, I said, “This is better than doing errands, huh?” Hand to G-d, she said, “This is better than Frozen!”
It goes to show, that one-on-one time is magical for our children. So magical that shoveling dirt can make our girls feel like princesses!