If you follow me on Twitter (follow here if you haven’t!), you’d be familiar with my hashtag #momdaymondays.
It is because Monday is my only WHOLE day with Aria (unless there’s work or errand to do though). Work is from Tuesday to Saturday (Saturday mornings at work every other week and sometimes wedding engagements, meetings in the afternoon). Sundays may be church day but while Daddy and Aria are hearing Mass (and chasing each other outside the church), I play for my choir or rehearse them. So I’m still daughter-free.
Big sigh! There are days when I wanted to drop everything and go back to just being a mom. I miss Aria much more now. I feel like I should be with her now that she is learning and growing fast.
Though sometimes I feel the opposite. She nurses more instead of eating more when I’m around. She plays tricks on me and her dad, and we end up not accomplishing anything at home or when we go out. She is makulit lately. We get tired and she doesn’t. But we love her so much! Amazing how parents give love even if kids can be little sources of headaches, and occasional bruises and bumps.
The recent #momdaymonday was a lot different from the others. We decided to do our grocery in the evening instead of doing it before lunchtime. We didn’t have pedia appointments so basically it was a relaxed day at home with my toddler and our helper.
I went to the playground with my daughter after her bath. It was a first time for me to see her try the swing and slide, all by herself. Before that, it was just a story I heard from my mom, the ever patient, ever supportive, and ever caring “Nonna” of Aria.
While playing, she tripped but she knew how to fall–with her hands. Such a strong girl. She came to me, showed her hands, and after I wiped off the dirt she went back and basked under the midday sun. Tears were welling out my eyes as I shared a hearty laugh with her.
Then she decided on her own that it’s time to end playground time so she ran toward the elevator. It was almost ten in the morning which means it’s time for Hi-5! And as she was singing and dancing while watching, I took the chance to clean her book chest. She noticed I wasn’t around so she looked for me and joined in the cleaning up. Until she decided to tear a small board book, one of the first her dad and I bought when she was still a few months old. I didn’t know how to react. She destroyed the book! But I said to myself, let her make that mess. Happy mess indeed! Then she picked one book and asked me to read to her.
Bittersweet indeed. Here I am eating my own words which I said a couple of weeks after giving birth–that I wished Aria was already all grown up so I could do again the things I was doing before I had her, which is singing, teaching, working, etc. I wished she was big already just so I could bring her with me everywhere. But now I don’t want to miss her tiny achievements every day–her new word, new trick, new skill. She is still our baby and I am selfish to say that she must remain our baby forever. She may be makulit and malikot compared to kids her age, but the joy that she radiates in our home is beyond words. I want her to grow loving God, her parents and family, have utmost respect for elders, and have a generous heart.
We just love our silly momdaymondays. Hope you are having fun every day of the week with the people you love.
~ Touringkitty