This is the time of year when one of my favorite holiday movies -- It’s a Wonderful Life - broadcasts regularly, reminding me, yet again, of Lego Man’s hair. Yes, you read that right: I’m talking about the tiny piece of plastic that fits on Lego figures’ heads. I associate this Lilliputian wig with the Jimmy Stewart classic, not because there is any mention of Legos in the film, nor any mention of hair or wigs, but because of an incident that happened a few years ago on a not-so-wonderful-life day.
My son Nick was about six at the time and I was keeping him company as he took a bath. I was sitting with my back to the bathroom wall, rewriting one of several to-do lists I had read and refolded so many times it was falling apart. I was not a happy camper, a state of mind Nick picked up on, because he asked, “What’s the matter, Mom?”
“Oh, nothing, honey,” I lied. “I’m just frustrated because I didn’t get anything done today.”
Nick looked at me as though I were insane and said, “What do you mean, Mom? You did a lot!”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Don’t you remember?” he said, “You found Lego Man’s hair!”
“Lego Man’s hair?” I asked, stalling for time. Then it came to me: the 15-minute search on hands and knees under his bed and behind his chair and in his sneakers for a yellow, lentil-sized piece of plastic. When I found it, Nick rejoiced like some crazed archaeologist celebrating the discovery of the Rosetta stone.
Of course, I had not bothered to put “Find Lego Man’s hair” on my to-do list, just as I had overlooked dozens of kid-oriented tasks and favors and treats and games that had clearly brightened Nick’s day. Filtered through his more appreciative lens, my desultory day looked down-right productive – even successful. Rather than throw myself down the back stairs, I was ready to run through the house, kissing broken banisters, embracing dirty laundry, gathering up discarded game pieces scattered under the living room furniture.
As moms, we rarely give ourselves credit for the countless acts of kindness we perform every day. “Picked green stuff out of rice” or “played 30 minutes of an excruciatingly boring game” or “wrestled kids into snowsuits” doesn’t make it into our daily agendas, so we the “to-do” list seems despressingly un-done. But when we spend a few extra minutes indulging in a little playtime with our kids or we make a special meal or share a laugh, we are accomplishing much more than we realize. It’s the little moments that mean the most.
Have you ever had an "It's a Wonderful Life" moment? Share your response in the comment field below by Monday, December 8th. Gather will draw one respondent to receive a free copy of The Secret of Play, a parenting book that celebrates the good stuff—the fun, spontaneity, creativity, and inspiration children bring to our lives every day.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 49
I actually just had an aha moment about 10 minutes ago. We are freezing down here in South Florida, so the boys and I decided to make banana bread. I was writing on my novel, when the smell of banana bread found its way to my nose. Then I heard my six-year-old son's celebration, when he spelled a new word on his Leapster, and I heard my two-year-old yell out excitedly, because he had managed to make a car out of his brother's legos. It really made me remember how fortunate I am that even though the kids fight once in a while, I am fortunate to be able to share these special moments with them.
One of my moments is whenever i take my kids to the store- thay ALL have to use the bathroom!!! they are 7,6,4 and 3. Its so time consuming, and so frusterating. when ne time I was at my end. I was ready to break down from the task, when my 3 year old son, Kal-El came up to me and said, I like you mom, you get a presant. I buy you a racing car" Now racing cars are my sons favorites, and he does not share, so this put a tear in my thinking t hat I mean so much to the kids that he would give me his prize possetions, then i think that 15 minutes to lett hem "marke their territory" in the bathrom at the store is the least i can do, for all the smiles they have given me.
and sorry for the misspellings-my hands are cramping :)
I loved this sentence, it reminds me of my six year old. Isn't it wonderful the joy they find in the simpliest things.
I have two adult children and my six year old son. I have had many breathtaking and heartfelt moments just being a Mom. I'll come back later when I have more time to leave one of those memories.
My son who had been standing there with me yelled back at her "Leave her alone, she's putting on her makedo! I laughed so hard it took me even longer to get ready!
In those five seconds or so, I realized not only was my son very funny, but was growing up fast.
Life IS wonderful!
It wasn't the items that touched me. She knew that I wanted those things and got them to make me happy. I was...more than she could know.
The next day she came in from school, and looked very sad. I asked her what was wrong. She looked forlornly at me and said,"You mean we have to do this once a month for the rest of our lives?" The look of sheer horror on her face was priceless. Needless to say, several conversations followed. The trump card was she was now a "woman" in her eyes, because her body was ready to produce a child. She treasured this thought, and all that went with it, and I was very proud of her attitude. AH! The trials of womanhood. I was very happy to share that moment with her.
Other than that, having my son ask for "eggs in pieces" for breakfast because he could not say scrambled, and several others are mental treasures also.. Ellen B
I many wonderful memories of my children. It just so happens that right now I am too tired to remember them. hee hee
It's still one of my favorite photos--my husband even had it enlarged for me, so I can take a deep breath and remember why I love being a mother.
For weeks our nine-year old daughter came in our bedroom, crying over nightmares. We would comfort her, say it was only a dream, take her back to her bedroom and wait until she fell asleep.
One morning she announced that she had a bad dream but had stayed in her room and went back to sleep on her own.
Congratulating her I said, "You know, the hardest thing in life is learning to face your fears."
Putting on a serious face, she thought for a moment and replied, "No. It's dividing by fractions."
The moments when my three year old thinks I'm the most wonderful thing on the planet because I found the toy car he'd been so upset about losing, or having me kiss his toy Lightning McQueen "night night" because he's so attached to it, that he sleeps with it.
The wonderful hugs and kisses my 4 year old daughter give me because I let her play "dress-up" and use my personal jewelry- which is off-limits any other time. Or when I put make-up on her and my 8 year old, because no Princess is complete without make-up!
The little moments with my children are what make any amount of sleep lost worth it at the end of the day! The nights of staying up all night with a sick child, or losing sleep because they're scared of the dark- all worth it when they hug me so tight I can't breath and tell me they love me, and love me because I "can do ______________".
My kids make me feel like a super-hero, and maybe I am. :)
It seems rather simple, but when my two older kids were younger we took them to see Tarzan at the movie theater. At the end of the movie, my husband was holding my dauther and I was holding my son and the music from the credits was playing on the screen, we all just kind of stood there, my husband and I hugging the kids and rocking them to the music. I thought to myself, "What a precious moment." I am never going to forget this" and I never have. This was about 8 or 9 years ago.
I wanted to cry.
My son spent his first few days in NICU (due to a mistake of the hospital). When I was finally ready to bring him home a nurse warned me of a huge list of things to watch for, colouring, all kinds of things and to call right away! Wow I thought, these little guys are delicate, I can't wait until he's two! In my head two was big and strong.
As it turns out, my doctor tells me that him turning his head right away the first day and not getting sick even while around another baby that got sick all the time and traded pacifiers and such, turning over the first few weeks etc...he was actually a strong baby. Well thanks to that nurse though, I was soooooooo nervous. I couldn't understand why mom's wanted babies, families were dying to adopt babies rather then older sturdier kids!
Anyway, he turned two in November and it hit me - a flashback of almost losing him the second day of my labour and what I went through, and all the fun things like colic and projectile vomiting from rice milk and all the things I said i would never deal with becaus O
d never have kids and then I thought joys of him saying mommy and learning so quickly as babies do. All the milestones they go through and I wouldn't have missed those two years. And I don't want to miss the next 100!
I'm doing my best to pass it along to her (with some success) and our kids too... And this book is such a PERFECT resource, because the take-home message at the end of EVERY day should be something on the order of:
"Remember, you have CHOSEN this, YOUR particular life, as an opportunity to learn something by playing, by poking here to see a giggle there, by making choices for the sake of freely choosing -- and it is ALL 'small stuff' when you get right down to it. If everyone is breathing and nobody is bleeding, it has been a good day".
I mean, not to get all "ESTian" or anything, but YOU are the one in charge of your "buttons" (the things that get all those weird responses out of you) and if you think about it, about the only productive thing to DO with them is to PLAY with them.
What a great day!
I wish that angel had visited my husband before he died. As a family this is our first Christmas without him. He made such a turn for the better difference in everyone's life.
Our son just won a commemorative awards ceremony at school for entering in the Nickelodeon's "Let's Just Play" contest which benefits schools. I am sure this was our son's wonderful life moment to be able to give to his school.