Mothering...

Just as Alexy feels he needs to cram his entire childhood into two weeks, I feel like I need to mother him enough in two weeks to make up for what he's missed and to last a very long time.
Last night I found myself playing Monopoly. Not so odd, I've played before. But what was odd is we started playing after "quiet" time and 15 minutes before "lights out time" and we played until almost ten o'clock. Lex just brought the box up and I couldn't explain that it was too late, too long of a game or I was just too tired. He just set it up and we played. (By the way, Lex is fabulous with money!) We've even left the game strewn all over my bedroom floor to finish after school today. This is so not like me.

But when you consider if you only had two weeks to love a child would routine's matter? Would you care what your house looked like or who called on the phone? I'm feeling sort of guilty as I don't think I'm that attentive to my own children. When Lex made me sit on the porch and watch him ride around the block 5 times there is nothing more I wanted to do.
With my own children they're always clamoring for my time and attention and I'm always "coming in a minute" or confirming "Yes, I saw you." and then hurrying on to my next commitment/project or task. So as I sat there basking in the beautiful fall day and watching this little boy with the pink flower helmet on the little girls bike ride by I couldn't help but feel guilt when I thought of the many times I exasperatingly gave my children 15 seconds of my time and a quick "good job" and hurried back to my agenda.
I know that children need braces, dance classes and money for lunch and in order to provide for them we work. We make money to pay our bills so our children have a home with working utilities and all the things we think they need to have a good childhood. We need to keep our homes clean enough that social services doesn't come take them away, we need to have time with our hubby, time with our extended family and of course time with our girlfriends or we'd go insane. We are pulled in many different directions and sometimes there just isn't enough of "me" to go around.
When I think deep about it, the fact of the matter is I've been with my children from 8-16 years depending on the child in question and I've spent hours with each of them doing homework, baking cookies, bandaging boo-boo's (if the bleed or not) curling hair, scrubbing necks, showing them how to clean their room for the 20th time, settling quarrels, running assignments/gym clothes/lunch money/tampons up to school, teaching them to use the potty, singing songs and telling stories to entertain them on long road trips, sitting through church, rubbing their backs or holding their hair back while their hunched over the toilet with stomach flu, and the list goes on.
Perhaps it's the lack of language that makes me drop what I'm doing and spend time with Lex but when you think about it, it's a lot like a new born. They don't speak your language either and when ever they cry, you jump! I sort of felt like the mother of a new born this morning when I realized he slept through the night and I did too!
But how would it be to not have a mom? No one to pick you up when you fall? No one that thought your art project was the best? No one that worried when you tried out for dance company? Or in my own mothers case, no one that sat through your many plays every night even when you are 39 years old? No one that worries if eat your vegetables, wash behind your ears, use your manners at a friends? No one to clean your clothes, tell you stories, sing you songs and kiss you goodnight? How grateful I am to my mom and what an awesome experience it is to be a mom. I guess I just never really thought about it all that much until this limited time with Lex and the fact that he just doesn't have a Mom.
So, I've been reading Lex a story at bedtime (I know he can't understand it but he seems to like it) and Rylee snuggles in too. I thought I'd just make up a story about the pictures last night. (We were reading Peter Pan and it's quiet long) but Lex said no, no and pointed to the words so even in another language I can't get away with summarizing.
And just so you can see how darling he is. Here's some silly video Devree took of Lex last night. He is so funny!