Making Memories

I'm leaving the house for work one morning.  As I'm backing out of the driveway, I look at our big front window to see if the kids are coming today to wave goodbye to me as I leave.  I see my daughter standing on the couch at the front window alone (our couch is in front of the big window and the kids stand on it to look out).  When she sees me, she frantically looks behind her to see if my son will make it to the window in time to wave.  As she sees him coming (or I should say, as she see my mother-in-law, her grandma, carrying my son to the window), she becomes extremely excited and starts jumping up and down on the couch.  I pull out on the street and stop in front of the window for a brief moment to wave to both of the kids.  I wave, just as they do, with both hands.  As I pull away, I think to myself, that was just the thing I needed to start the morning.

After my daughter was born and I went back to work, my mother-in-law started watching the kids at my house.  It, in some ways, was easier for both of us this way.  I'm not sure how exactly it got started (I'm sure my son just wanted to wave goodbye and that was the best place to do it), but soon, waving at the front window became a bit of a morning tradition.

One morning, for whatever reason (most likely pure toddler excitement), my son waved goodbye to me with both hands.  I knew, knowing him, how excited he would be if I copied what he did.  So I waved back at him with both hands.  And from that moment on, the double handed wave has been here to stay.

Over time, my daughter has learned what this waving thing is all about and has become really excited about it.  My MIL told me that she usually gets so excited that she jumps on the couch once they make it there.  It's a rare occasion that I get to see that, however, since she usually does it before I back out far enough to see them in the window.  It's a special treat when I get to see that, since it's just so cute.

It's easy to get caught up in the day to day.  It's easy to start to doubt yourself, to wonder if you are doing enough, contributing enough to your child's life. As I drove to work the morning after witnessing that scene I described above, I realized the little moments mean just as much (if not more) than the big ones.  Going to the window each morning seemed to me, for so long, like such an insignificant thing.  But this special tradition is the kind of thing that will turn into a treasured memory that will last a life time.  And to me, that's what raising kids is all about.

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

p.s.  If you see me waving excitedly at you with both hands like an idiot, please excuse me.  I've simply forgotten to switch out of mommy mode.  ;)