Fem365: Fitness. Food. Femininity.
I have been pretty frantic over the last few weeks, trying to tie up loose ends as I finish my book, dealing with “technological difficulties,” expanding my fitness venture in various ways, and (trying to) keep up with the daily tasks that fall to me as the resident “haus frau” (cooking, laundry, meal planning, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.).
During the rare moments of downtime when my son is home from preschool, it is easy for me to fall into the pattern of checking my email or catching up on my favorite blogs while he eats a snack or plays quietly. But last week I realized that — as much as I want to squeeze out every spare minute to answer my own emails or do my “own thing” — my little boy is growing up quickly, and I need to take the time to be with him. To just sit and look at him and engage him in conversation.
A few days ago, I took the time to be with him. I (semi-reluctantly) put away my iPad and sat directly across from him while he drank his hot chocolate and ate his cookie. It was quiet for a while (save for a few “fart jokes” — his favorite at the moment), but suddenly a look of great excitement crossed over his face as he formulated a proposal.
“Mom?” he said, “I know exactly what you should make for the next cooking contest you enter. A 100 layer cake with a heart on top and a teddy bear on top of that. Do you want to hear the recipe?”
Of course I did!
Here was his recipe, transcribed verbatim from his lips to my paper (don’t try this at home, folks!):
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of baking powder
- 1 cup of water
- 2 cups of flour
- chocolate chips (2 cups)
- 2 cups of gummy bears
Directions:
You need to put it in the fridge because it’s an icing cake. Actually, put it in the freezer for one whole day and then take it out in the night. You don’t have to bake the cake — the freezer just makes it. Because if you bake it in the oven, the icing will melt. Put it in the fridge for 10 minutes and then put a gummy bear on the top. Done!
If I hadn’t taken the time to sit quietly and just be in the moment with my son, I would never have heard (and recorded) his brilliant recipe. Another lesson learned… One I have to learn over and over. It’s too bad that I have to keep being a student in this game called “parent-hood,” but luckily every time I learn a lesson, it’s so sweet!