A Gift from my Children

I was on my own tonight with the kids. So after we got home from gymnastics, I needed a few minutes of quiet and calm to get a quick dinner on the table. I tried something I rarely do. I asked the kids to play in their bedrooms by themselves for a few minutes. Well, all the stars were aligned and a miracle occurred:
1. They both played quietly in their room for not 5 minutes, but 20. 20 whole minutes.
2. Neither one tore up their room, screamed for me to rescue them, or injured themselves.
3. Bethany came out eventually and said, "Momma, I cleaned my whole room, wanna see?" And sure enough, she had cleaned her room.

I'm tempted to try it again. I've heard of families where children will play alone in their rooms quietly but for us, it only happens on occasion. Bethany is extremely extroverted (at least for this phase of her life) and would like to be around people every second of the day. She even loathes going to the bathroom by herself. So, playing alone in a closed room is a BIG DEAL! And Caleb, well for obvioous reasons, he has spent very little time away from us.

So I am thankful for the gift I was given today.

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