let's dance

Hannah loves Dora. She would watch this bilingual, back pack wearing little girl who talks to a monkey who wears "boots" all hours of the day if we weren't such responsible parents... (can you believe I said that?)

Dora always has a mission. Every time she gets a mission she consults her map and there is a little song. When the mission is complete there is the "we did it" song.

I was walking thru the room and one of the songs started and I saw Hannah spring out of her Elmo chair (that was so last year), and begin jumping and dancing without a care in the world. I stood and watched, laughing until I decided to join in. We were both now dancing and jumping around. Then the song ended and she sat back down and I went about my business.

A few minutes later, I was upstairs unloading the dishwasher (I am very domesticated), and I heard another song come on. I heard Hannah spring out of her chair, but this time she was running. She ran to the steps and yelled "c'mon daddy", so I screamed "leave me alone kid" and went back to what was important - the dishes... WHATEVER!!!

I put down the plates and jumped down 8 steps (I stuck the landing) to dance with my little girl. After the song, I came back up until another song came on. She now expects me to dance with her every time - I wouldn't have it any other way.

My point: I want my kids to expect me to do fun things with them. I don't want them to think "daddy is to busy to play with me". I look at Shayna (11 years old) and remember how fast those years went. I want to make the most of every dance, game, adventure and bath time while I can. I love my girls and I show them love by spending time with them.

Based on where your time is allocated, what/who do you love?

Time is the greatest gift we can give our family.