Paying Attention

Do you ever have those nights when you look at your child and want to ask, "Who are you, and what have you done with my kid?" Well, tonight was one of those nights.

From the moment Abby got off the bus it seemed that things were not right. First she wanted pizza, since we already went that route this week, that was not an option. Then she got mad at Bruiser. She actually came to me to "tattle" on him, saying, "Moooommm, Bruiser's bugging me!" Apparently, Abby doesn't need to have a human sibling in order to argue.

Once we'd separated the "kids" and settled on a dinner option, the yelling started. It wasn't angry yelling, it was just very loud talking. I nearly suggested to Jason that maybe it was time to get her hearing checked. I had to keep reminding her that I was standing right next to her, and she didn't need to talk so loud - it didn't really help.

The next problem that cropped up was that her noodles weren't done on time. Abby has learned that the beep on the stove usually means food is ready, but she hasn't learned to distinguish the beeps that accompany the setting of the timer, and the beeps that signal time is up. Before I knew it, I was sucked into a "Yes they are/No they're not" argument about whether or not the noodles were ready.

Finally, I thought we were in the all clear when Abby decided to play upstairs in her room for a bit before bed. All that did was cause her to yell even louder when she needed me to do something for her, or get her a new toy.

Maybe it was because I'd gone to the dentist after school (something I dread), or maybe it was because today is Thursday and I'm tired...whatever it was, I didn't have a lot of patience. It wasn't until I heard Jason say, "It sounds like she just wants to spend time with you," that I was convicted. I'd been "too busy" catching up on some emails and doing my own thing to realize that he was right. She just wanted to spend some time with her mom. I closed my computer, chugged the last few sips of my coffee, and headed up to see her. I found her in the hallway, hugging a book, and saying, "Mom, read to me!" How could I not?

I got Abby ready for bed and we snuggled in to read some books. Before long I noticed she was fast asleep. I realized that my little angel had been there all the time, I just hadn't taken the time to pay attention.

Isn't it good that each day is new, and we can start again? I know tonight I'm very thankful for that fact.

It doesn't get much sweeter....