Making precious time
At the beginning of the quarantine, I thought it would be a great opportunity to spend some wonderful times with my children, something we seemed to be in short supply of. Alas – I was wrong! Just like everyone, our world has been turned upside down and I have felt busier than ever, if that was even possible! Juggling working from home (blessed to still have employment, my heart aches on so many levels for those finding themselves suddenly landed in hardships), and homeschooling (teachers should really be paid the same as doctors), and maintaining the household has been quite the challenge.
One day I had an epiphany, I absolutely HAVE to carve out time to fulfill at least some of my children's requests. Whilst it seems my little babes are handling it all like an extended school holidays, I know they are hurting too. Missing friends, regular routines, activities and all the hopes & dreams for the year have been dashed. Plus, it must be hard being home with your parents 24/7, and they STILL don’t have time to let you just play with their hair, or do their makeup or manicures. These I use as examples because I noticed these have been fairly regular requests. Not just in the last month, but all. The. Time. So, I made a commitment to start saying yes!
I realised the moment is NOW. While we are all together, before my girls get older and don’t want to spend time with their mum. On a sunny afternoon last week, I put everything aside and made time for my almost 11year old to do my makeup, per her recurring request. We had a really fun time! It was special to play with natural makeup and have fun together.
Since then we’ve started a list of activities we want to do in an old notebook where each family member can write down a wish list. This way, we can make sure we commit a time. Something as simple as my little miss 9 wanting to do my hair. Why does she ask me when I’m preparing dinner? And then of course, if we’re sitting down to a show later, we’ve forgotten the request and this would really be the perfect time for it! Half an hour is plenty!
Natural makeup is non-toxic for kids & teens and all about feeling good in your own skin. We used:
jojoba eyeliner – black
chamomile eye palette – lovely
wild pansy tinted lip bar – wish
sesame lip liner – sweet
I hope this little story from our lives at home helps you to find little moments to connect with your kids, especially with Mother’s Day just around the corner.