It was a normal weekday morning. My husband and I had woken up, gotten ready, made breakfast and coffee, and released the kids. The weather was unusually cool and outdoor play required light jackets. Mainly because quarantine had kept me from dressing my boys most days. Why fight them to get dressed when PJs make great play clothes?
The cool weather had me craving more hot drinks and maybe a blanket. It really wasn’t that cool, low 60’s, but my body was craving the sun from all the low moods being induced by the current life circumstances. I was beyond unmotivated to do much other than sit and relax.
Somehow we made it through the morning finding various activities to distract us from our laziness, as well as the inability to visit loved ones. Lunch was eaten, and quickly forgotten, as I told them they could finally watch some shows before quiet time. My youngest insisted on watching with his Bubba.
My oldest had already cuddled on the couch and was watching Odd Squad. His brother quickly climbed up next to him with his “freeze banana.” He had recently taken to getting one banana to eat and getting another banana as a freeze ray. He would run around the house yelling, “freeze!” at everything in his way. Suddenly, quiet washed through my house, besides the hushed voices from the show.
I began working in the kitchen cleaning up lunch and leftover dishes. Going about my usual routine when my boys no longer need me as urgently. Despite my autopilot mode of finding the house, I stopped when the silence reached my brain. No fighting, no loud noises, just quiet giggles and replies to their show.
I slowly approached the living room and the couch. I could only see the tops of their heads from where I had been in the kitchen. Once behind the couch, neither of the boys noticed me, and I had a moment to just look at them getting along and enjoying a show together. They adore each other, but they aren’t always on the same page at the same time. One wants alone time while the other wants a playmate or neither of them wants to play JUST how the other wants. It’s a difficult scale to balance.
Sometimes their personalities line up just right, at just the right time. I love when I get to see those special moments, and even more when I get to capture them. It reminds me that mo matter how hard some days can be, my boys love each other, deeply.
This post was written as part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to read the next post in this series “Snapshot”.
created by @pheonixfeatherscalligraphy for C+C, 2020
I giggled at the “freeze banana”! So cute.