My lovely days as a SAM parent

Our daycare was closed for two days this week, and I had the pleasure of staying home with my youngest child, just the two of us. Isla is a funny girl. She is talkative and full of conviction. She will claim any good idea that comes through the household as her own. Who knows? Maybe she's right: Maybe it is our desire to make her happy that makes us come up with ideas about picnics and parties. 

Needless to say, these two days were filled with joy. The sun shined, after several days of rain. I had time to do, to wonder, to just be. There were moments when I couldn't help but think, "What would it be like to stay home every day?"

But I'm no fool. I know that the life of a stay-at-home parent is not the endless equivalent of what I experienced the past two days. However, I hope that those of you who spend your days with your children can enjoy as many lovely moments as possible. I wish it for you...

I wish you relaxed grocery runs for cookie ingredients. I wish you patience as you bake together. I wish you mornings where all you have to do is get a batch of cookies baked.

I wish you lunches in the sunshine. I wish you the willingness to feed your child a peanut butter sandwich and cookies for lunch because it doesn't hurt to eat terribly once in a while. I wish you mealtime discussions about ants and honeybees.

I wish you visits from people who interest and inspire you during the day. Or I wish you the escape of a good book. If you need to rely on a movie to distract your children at any point, I wish you the ability to do so without guilt.

I wish you a morning that you can walk to the park, play outside, go to the library, then return to the park — all without checking the time. I wish you a morning where a growling stomach is the sign that you must get going.

I wish you a lunch date at a local shop with cheese and crackers and chocolate milk and ginger beer. I wish you a "who cares?" attitude when the box of crackers tips in the wind, spilling all over the table and chair and cement below you.

I wish you strolls and chats and stories and hugs and kisses. I wish you moments that serve to renew and recharge the way these days renewed me.