This is the first in a series of posts about the sorts of things I like to do every single day.
First, the refrain for the series:
The things you do every day matter,
Over time, they shape who you become.
It’s not just big, decisive moments that shape us.
Small steps, taken consistently, are where we make up the most ground.
I want to be intentional about doing some things every day.
One thing I want to do, every single day, is tell my kids “good job”. I want to give them some encouragement, affirmation, and love, on an every day basis. (By the way, part of the reason I want to do this is because I feel like this is what I received!) I don’t think that’s an unusual desire for parents to want to give those things to their children, but everybody does it in their own way and is more or less successful at it. We try to do it all the time, but I think it’s helpful to mark out a space where something like that happens fairly routinely. Here’s what we’ve been doing lately.
In the evening, at suppertime (one of my favorite times in the day), we eat our delicious food, and normally the girls finish before Kelly and I do. We used to try to make them stay at the table until we were finished, just for manners sake, but we’ve started doing something different. Now, when they finish, I tell them they can get down from the table, but I ask them if they’re ready to sing and dance. these are two of their favorite activities, so they normally light up. A chance to sing and dance? that normally perks them up, even if they weren’t pleased by the supper offering. (Note: they are being foolish when they are not pleased: our suppers are always tasty and delicious.)
So Kelly and I sit back at the table, and the girls use the rest of the kitchen as their stage. They make up songs. Sometimes they both sing. Sometimes Izzy sings, and Micah just dances. Sometimes Micah sings, and Izzy dances. Sometimes they both just dance.
It’s hard sometimes to know when a particular song is over. (I don’t think they always know). Whenever they seem to get to a transition, though, I remind them to bow and say thank you, and we clap like crazy and shower them with things like “good job”, “that was so wonderful”, “best song ever”, and the such. They smile so big, you’d think they had just won a grammy. There’s usually a good bit of laughing. Sometimes they come back and sit at the table, telling Kelly and I that it’s out turn. We play along, and perform for them. I sing and dance, Kelly just dances. All the songs are really silly. Sometimes they’re sweet, but mostly silly.
It’s all really silly, but that’s okay. we need that, you know? We need a little bit of play and laughter, and if we can have just one part of our day that’s dependable for creating a space for those things, that’s great. Even more important, though, I want to make space for us to be clapping, cheering, and praising our girls. Someday, they might not want to get up and sing songs in the kitchen (Oh Lord, I hope they always do!). But regardless, we’re going to make space for praise, affirmation, and cheering on each other in our family.
This is how we’re doing it now. We try to do it every day.
The things you do every day matter,
Over time, they shape who you become.
It’s not just big, decisive moments that shape us.
Small steps, taken consistently, are where we make up the most ground.
I want to be intentional about doing some things every day.
(Someday we’ll get some video up of this whole event, but usually we don’t have a camera or even phone handy, since it’s at the dinner table. The video posted here show off some of their talents, but it’s not the whole post dinner extravaganza.
