Happy Monday! Thank you for all the happy Mother’s Day messages!
What do you think of this vibrant bloom in my front yard? Such a beautiful and fragrant scent to greet me on Mother’s Day with its first bloom of the year.
As I’ve been thinking about flowers, I was reminded of a memory that I shared with my family over dinner and I thought I’d share the story with you.
When my children were young, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, put my career outside the home on hold, and make my home and family the focus of my energy and love. I was very glad I did because I was able to be with my children and include them in many everyday tasks, even when they were in preschool. This included taking them to the grocery store with me.
In our town there was a grocery store that had a great variety of organic fresh fruits, vegetables and natural products. I had been careful to scope out the best prices and found the stores that were family-friendly and the easiest for me to shop at with young children. Having a set grocery list and meal plan, and knowing the sales for the week, helped me make a budget. I was especially excited about this grocery store because there were lots of self-help checkout lines and my little preschooler son could “help” me and he would learn so much in the process!
But this “help” did not always include understanding the budget. And what did my loving preschooler son want to do? Buy me flowers. Every Single Time. There were fresh long stem cut flowers bright and beautifully displayed at preschool-eye level. He wanted to be like Daddy and make Mommy happy by bringing home fresh flowers.
I was soooo tempted to say, “no it’s not in the budget, too expensive, not on the list…” I mean, I was so proud of myself for making and sticking with a budget! I felt great having a list and staying with it! And these flowers were going to ruin it all and I’d have to rearrange my budget right there in the store! But, you know what? I’m so glad I said yes to the flowers. I am so glad I said yes to his generous heart. I’m so glad for the bit of insight I had in the moment that he was not asking for candy for himself, or a new toy to go with his Legos, but that his happiness in buying the item was based on making his mother happy. I’m so glad that by saying yes to the flowers he learned the joy of making others happy.
And you know what? He laughed at the story the other night when I told it over dinner, saying to me, “But you had to pay for the flowers!”
This week in homeschooling, I continue to include them in my budgeting and meal planning and different activities about running a home.
That’s enough of me “yappying” for now. Until next time, take good care of yourself, be safe, and stay healthy!
