I was going to have a little chat with my three-year old this week. I had planned on encompassing perspective, self-confidence and acceptance. We were going to have our little talk at a nearby cafe. I was going to have a croissant and a cappuccino and she was going to have a hard-boiled egg, a string cheese and an apple juice. The whole thing was planned out.
I had some talking points:
It’s OK that girl was wearing a ball gown at the party…I know you had on a party dress…But that doesn’t mean you can’t dance on the same dance floor she did…If you want to dance, then you can dance…It doesn’t matter what your wearing…What matters is who you are…Who you are on the inside is what is most important…People love to watch you dance, and you love to dance…
And so on.
But fortunately, my plan was thwarted by a raucous game of catapult. We were at a really great shop called Back Wagon in Portland a couple of months ago we got a hand-made little wooden catapult. It came with three cool little hand-made bean bags. The kids love it. I love it. Mary is skeptical. It’s a little dangerous.
They saved me from having to go there. Elouise and I are going to have lots of deep talks her whole life.
I had a plan, and I really wanted to stick to it. But once again, I had to let go and shift. I asked Elouise if it was OK that we rescheduled our quality time for later. The fist bump we did seemed to convey, “We have a lot of time, dad. I’m still only three”.
I love wooden toys. If I could make the rules, plastic and digitized toys would be banned forever. Cheers for quality time that involves experience over discussion.