The best thing that happened to me today...
Every night at dinner we go around the table and talk about the best thing that happened to us today. Brynn usually remembers to ask everyone, she sets the order in which we will speak and is sure to point to the person whose turn it is to go. If I'm the chef of the evening meals, but is most certainly our cruise director.
We've noticed a few great things about these dinner conversations:
Lately at dinner the girls have been asking us to tell them stories about when they were babies. (I'll have to blog some of those, by the way, because as Chad and I, and whoever happens to be dining with us that night, have reached back into our memories looking for stories we have come up with some really funny ones that I don't want to forget again. So look for flashback posts - coming soon to a blog near you.)
Anyway, last night I was too tired to think of more baby stories, so I asked the girls to tell me a story instead. Grace told us a couple of stories about her week at school. Tales of new friends from the playground, going to art on Friday. Then we gave Brynn at turn. Oh boy! This kid can spin a yarn. Her first story was about when she was at school and a man came up and said boo in her face and scared her.
L: "Who was it?"
B: "A road worker man. But he came in a fire car. He lives in the fire car. He used to live in a police car, but it got burned down and now he live in a fire car. But he's a road worker, not a fire man. Anyway, he comes to school and stops at the candy table and we say hey! what are you doing at our school? And he comes and get right in my face and says boo, really loud and I scream like this (demonstrates screaming - very, very loudly) and then I slap him like this (demonstrates slapping, by giving her own head a pretty good whack)."
Chad, Grace and I are dying laughing. It was very funny. She was very animated as she told this story, lots of big arm motions and crazy faces.
L: "Brynn, did this really happen?"
B: "Mom, it's a story. We're telling stories remember? Want to hear another one?"
So she launches into a lengthy story about a skeleton boy and his skeleton dog who she met out on the sidewalk in front of the house. There was also screaming and slapping in this story, as well as grabbing the skeleton dog by the tail and swinging him around.
I was doing the dishes last night and making some desert as Chad practiced the piano and the girls played downstairs. It all just felt very warm and content, plus it smelled like homemade rolls.
The day was hardly perfect. Brynn was sick and cranky, Grace was just cranky and picking fights, we were about 5 mins late for church, there was fighting and crying and a lot of verbal disgust expressed about how mean I am and the grand inequities of life after my insistence that people pick up all the toys they got out. But despite all that, I'll remember yesterday for a funny, crazy dinner that melted away all the hard feelings in the house. If I could go back, I'd say dinner was the best thing that happened to me yesterday.
We've noticed a few great things about these dinner conversations:
- The kids are doing much better at using their manners and giving each other turns to talk.
- We laugh - a lot!
- The girls ask us to tell them stories, so we've spent time talking about when we were kids, what we remember about our moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas.
- They eat more when we distract them with witty dinner banter.
- We are able to get a lot more information out of them about school and what's going on in their lives.
- We've solved several major life problems (as much as you can have a major life problem with you are 3 and 7 respectively.)
- They no longer run off when they are done eating. Because they are no longer bolting when they shovel the last bite of food into their mouths, we have made asking to be excused and clearing your own dishes part of the normal routine!
- I've also noticed that they have been thanking me for the meal lately without Chad prompting them. (Hmmm, are those angels I hear singing the hallelujah chorus in the distance?!?!)
- Finally, Chad and I noticed recently that Brynn has sort of an eternal view of her life. She doesn't differentiate between her days. If you ask her the best thing that happened to her she might tell you something from that day, she might tell you something from 6 months ago. She's thinking about it. It's good. She shares. End of story.
Lately at dinner the girls have been asking us to tell them stories about when they were babies. (I'll have to blog some of those, by the way, because as Chad and I, and whoever happens to be dining with us that night, have reached back into our memories looking for stories we have come up with some really funny ones that I don't want to forget again. So look for flashback posts - coming soon to a blog near you.)
Anyway, last night I was too tired to think of more baby stories, so I asked the girls to tell me a story instead. Grace told us a couple of stories about her week at school. Tales of new friends from the playground, going to art on Friday. Then we gave Brynn at turn. Oh boy! This kid can spin a yarn. Her first story was about when she was at school and a man came up and said boo in her face and scared her.
L: "Who was it?"
B: "A road worker man. But he came in a fire car. He lives in the fire car. He used to live in a police car, but it got burned down and now he live in a fire car. But he's a road worker, not a fire man. Anyway, he comes to school and stops at the candy table and we say hey! what are you doing at our school? And he comes and get right in my face and says boo, really loud and I scream like this (demonstrates screaming - very, very loudly) and then I slap him like this (demonstrates slapping, by giving her own head a pretty good whack)."
Chad, Grace and I are dying laughing. It was very funny. She was very animated as she told this story, lots of big arm motions and crazy faces.
L: "Brynn, did this really happen?"
B: "Mom, it's a story. We're telling stories remember? Want to hear another one?"
So she launches into a lengthy story about a skeleton boy and his skeleton dog who she met out on the sidewalk in front of the house. There was also screaming and slapping in this story, as well as grabbing the skeleton dog by the tail and swinging him around.
I was doing the dishes last night and making some desert as Chad practiced the piano and the girls played downstairs. It all just felt very warm and content, plus it smelled like homemade rolls.
The day was hardly perfect. Brynn was sick and cranky, Grace was just cranky and picking fights, we were about 5 mins late for church, there was fighting and crying and a lot of verbal disgust expressed about how mean I am and the grand inequities of life after my insistence that people pick up all the toys they got out. But despite all that, I'll remember yesterday for a funny, crazy dinner that melted away all the hard feelings in the house. If I could go back, I'd say dinner was the best thing that happened to me yesterday.
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