Today I had a moment that I hope I will never forget! Actually, I've prayed that I wont forget it.
Rana and I took a walk to some friends' house who just had a baby to give them some paraphernalia. Rana decided to ride her 2 wheeler, no training wheels. This was her first big ride, she's never ridden out of our cul-de-sac before. I don't know if she knew how big of a deal this was.
I hope I can describe the moment--I wish my vocabulary was bigger!
She had a pale pink helmet with a kitty on it that we got at a garage sale, which she is so proud of, and a pink bike with bears dressed up as bees all over it as decorations. She was wearing a pair of purple corduroy leggings that were too big for her and were bunching at the ankle, pink socks with ballerina slippers on them and her black patent leather shoes with a satin bows. She looked like a kid! Totally unaffected by self consciousness and the pressures of the in crowd. She always looks thin, but these particular leggings accentuate her fifth percentile stature.
She looked so tiny, even frail physically, and yet full of courage and maturity. It was a new strength that I have never seen in her before. A sense of hope and peace welled up in my heart. A sense that she will make it, although her sensitive heart is often hurt by the cruelties of others that she will not be crushed.
I am so thankful that the Lord gave me the eyes to see her maturing and changing. I know that by definition my children will mature as they get older, but it is not a guarantee that I will notice the changes and treat them like they've matured. I could miss it and keep them in a box, blind to what God is doing in their lives.
This developing maturity hasn't changed a lot in our day to day lives, except that I have a deeper resolve to implement a staggered bed time. Everyone wins with a staggered bed time and it honors Laurana for who she is becoming. It looks like a lot more work on paper, but there is so much more peace and contentment in our house that it is SO much easier!
This is how we do it: Everyone gets into their jammies. As soon as they are cleaned up after dinner. We play/tidy up until it is 7:45. One of us takes Maisie to bed, snuggles and reads to her for 10 minutes or so. Between 8-8:15 Adelle and Josiah go to bed. We haven't worked out all the kinks of this part yet. But Adelle gets stories and songs and most importantly, snuggles. Around 8:45 we start Rana's routine, stories, games, video games, art, it doesn't matter what it is--all that matters is that she has both of us to herself. She has blossomed under this care.
We tell the other girls that "Rana is older, so she gets to stay up latest." Guess what!? Rana now acts like she's older! I thought this new bedtime routine would just be a nice way for me to ensure that I got time alone with each kid (Brad and I trade off who we put to bed) for my own sake, but Rana has really started to act differently. She does her chores (unload the "low cabinet" dishes, put her clothes away, and set the table) with a good attitude and she isn't as whiney or demanding. It's amazing!
As a side note, Maisie no longer screams, yells, and hollers for 45-90 minutes every night. This has added MUCH to the sense of peace in our home!
