How To Really Love a Child
Just a few days ago I happened upon a post over at blog that I frequent, Shivaya Naturals. She was having a rough day, in need of reconnecting with her little ones, and took a moment to share something she found and, then, encouraged others to do the same. What resulted was over 85 comments FILLED with inspiration, ideas, ways to connect, relax, love.
I was having a bit of a rough patch myself. Our little guy is recovering from his third consecutive illness (bronchiolitis, stomach bug, ear infection), my husband is working overtime (has been for several weeks and will be for several more), and I’ve just been feeling a little overwhelmed. A little busy. A little disconnected. A little in-between.
Seeing the image that she posted, inspired me as well. I sat down with a notebook page, a pen, and a five-minute timer. And, as I had done with my students so many times, I did a quick write a la Donald Graves. A five-minute, on-topic, brain dump. And this was my result:
Then I thought about it, I thought about how my list made me feel, and how the lists of all those in the comments made me feel and I couldn’t help but wonder, imagine how fun it would be to see them all, together. And this is what I came up with.
(download the .pdf and hang it somewhere in your home, just like I intend to)
I started with the list in the image, continued with all the beautiful ideas in the comments, added a few of my own, and highlighted some of the words which, right now, touch me the most. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Together.
And that’s what I plan to do. Today.
Danielle, this is so amazing. I just posted it on the blog, and a huge thank you to you for putting this together the way that you did. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.
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Thank you for this
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Thank you for doing this. It is amazing to see all of those words and ideas together!
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This is fantastic! thank you.
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I do love this so much. I’m printing one for home and one for work!
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Thank you so much for compiling all of the ideas! I felt similar when I read Heather’s post last week – sometimes we all need little reminders to fully enjoy the life with our little ones, and allow ourselves to have fun with them.
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It was really great of you to take the time to do this.
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