On Wednesdays there is no preschool. So her two older play buddies head off to middle school and 1st grade and she stays home with mama.
A lot of times I still have work I have to get done even though I’m lucky enough to be able to stay home with her. So sometimes we go on adventures but sometimes she is stuck hanging out and entertaining herself while I work. As the youngest, learning to play on her own is a new concept for her. She rarely has alone time in our crazy household. This morning she resisted at first and whined that she needed a play buddy. I told her I totally understood, play buddies are so fun. But also, it can be really fun to play on your own sometimes. You can pick whatever you want to do, no one will argue with you or try to change what you’re doing or mess up what you’re working on. It can be fun!
She seemed skeptical. She hung out in the chair in the family room with me for a while but then wandered off into the other room. After a while I realized some time had passed and I hadn’t heard from her so I went to check on her.
I found her playing in the living room with the Calico Critter set. She had a whole house set up in the shelves. There was a kitchen where the little critters were all seated around they table. They all had drinks and tiny plates with pizza slices. She had turned over one of the tiny beds to fashion a small kid table. There were pans on the stove and a little toaster on the counter. In the bedrooms the beds were arranged just so with a chair between each and a loveseat positioned in front of the fireplace. It was adorable. And meticulous.
Kids are amazing.
Learning how to play on your own is a hard lesson and it’s one I usually feel guilty about. I tell myself I should be playing with her and soaking up this time with her before she goes off to kindergarten.
But the truth is, she was fine. She had a blast and she played happily on her own and it was good for her to have some time to herself. Parenting is a tricky balance. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as parents these days.
I guess all I’m trying to say is, sometimes guilt is a liar.