Create Memories

Some of my favorite memories from my childhood were when we went to the lake, each night we'd spend time as a family playing Tripoli, a poker like game.

Before I left to take care of my mother for two weeks, I spent the previous 3-4 nights playing games with my children: sequence, junior sequence, risk, and dominoes. My intention was to leave them feeling that they were important to me and wouldn’t forget me so easily.

My son acquired a nerf gun during my absence and challenged me to a shoot out when I returned; I said yes thinking he would forget.

Two days before I returned I asked him if he missed me, without a beat he said “No.” I laughed, I was glad he felt comfortable telling me the truth.

The day after I returned, he reminded me that I had agreed to a nerf challenge (ugh!). I tried delaying by citing the need to wash the dishes and fold the laundry. He then wrangled his friend and his sister to help fold laundry so he could challenge me to a nerf shoot out.

At this point I realized he really wanted to challenge me and that I should be glad, since he’s twelve now and I’m not sure when he'll stop wanting to play games with me.

They were easy on me the first game, I won; I lost the next two.

Your children will always fondly remember playing games and spending time together versus you being unavailable because the dishes needed being done or the laundry or the vacuuming.

What do you do to create special time with your child(ren)?