Once, as we were driving home, I told my kids a story about 3 little kids just like them. It was nap time in my story, and as these three kids were drifting off into dream land, their mom woke them up. There was a great, big thunder storm going on outside, and she didn’t want them to miss it. The mom in my story made popcorn for them all, and they all ran outside in the rain together and didn’t even have to take their naps! Oh what a wonder the thought of a storm, popcorn, and no naps was to my kids. My oldest daughter, Ember, would mention that particular story from time to time. I knew she hoped it would come true some day.
We were just coming off of a long, grueling couple days of my husband being gone on a work trip, and I was really ready for bed time and a little time to myself. I gave the 3 older kids dinner, nursed the baby, and had all of them in bed by 7:00. Freedom was just around the corner. I was looking forward to some quiet, a hot shower, a sparkling drink maybe, my book… And then what do you know? A big, exciting thunder storm hit our little house. And the kids noticed. They were out of bed in minutes, all excited – jumping in their little pj’s and wondering what to do about the storm. Ember called to me, “Mom! Remember the story about the mom and kids who didn’t have to go to bed and got to play in the storm? We need to make popcorn!” And it all dawned on me. Here was her chance to live that story she so loved. And here was my chance to make it happen. A shower, a book, a drink, some quiet time… all of that paled in comparison with the opportunity to make this small dream of my kids’ come true.
“Everyone out of bed! Let’s go see the storm! Who wants popcorn?” I threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and we all dashed outside. The sun was shining, hail was coming down in torrents, and the thunder was just loud enough to be exciting but not too loud to be scary. The kids were all laughing, and so was I! We sat on our front step, munched popcorn, and talked about how cool the storm was. Flynn thought it was the greatest thing to be *outside* in his pj’s (I think that’s what made him most excited about the whole thing). I dared Ember to run out in the hail, and she hopped right up and ran out, screaming with the thrill of it. Sylvia mostly just wanted to make sure she got enough popcorn before the rest of us ate it all. But then she too she ran out and just stood in the driveway getting drenched in the rain with the cutest smile, so happy to get wet. After one more barefoot run out in the rain all together, laughing and with wet hair I said it really was time for bed.
It was such a small thing to do – hold off bed time for 30 minutes and run outside in the rain with my kids. But it was such a big thing for me – to drop everything and go have some fun when my kids were all least expecting it. I am not naturally one for spontaneity or changing plans, but the longer I’m a mom and the more kids I have I realize how important it is to hold plans loosely and just have fun with my kids. From the smiles on their faces, I knew they’d be talking about this little adventure for weeks. Opportunities like these really do come remarkably often, it’s simply that I have to make the choice to take them and go.
Here’s to many more late bedtimes full of thunder storms, popcorn, and plain old laughter with my kids.
jayloizeaux 