Spoil me Sunday
I came up with this idea last year.....after noticing that Jeremiah was down in the dumps and I felt disconnected from him. He loves shopping.....and stuff.....so I proposed a new tradition: Spoil Me Sunday with Mom. After church, we left to go eat lunch out, shop and spend quality time together. It made a difference.....for he and I both. We reconnected. We shared time and space for a few hours......and he got some stuff he needed and wanted and I got to indulge in just him.
All of my kids are special, and wonderful, and worth my time. It's just hard when there are 5 (plus Grace this year!) We did Jeremiah's Spoil Me Sunday last year.....then Claire's kinda got schlepped in with a dance competition weekend.....and Precious wanted to take Josiah and go to walmart and McDonalds....and that's as far as we got last year. Summer took hold and so it goes. Recently, Isaac mentioned that he never got his Spoil Me Sunday. Huh. Apparently the kids are paying attention.....and perhaps.......Spoil Me Sunday matters.
We determined that this week Sunday would work best, so we cleared it with Roger, and warned the rest of the kiddos that today, mom and Isaac were taking Spoil Me Sunday after church. Uncle Todd had given us a hot dish recently, so I thawed that out for sunday dinner for the fam. Isaac and I headed out of town after Sunday School. On the way to Sioux City we talked about life and sports and friends and the future....and I asked him for 2 things he thought were going well and 2 things that were hard right now......it was just Isaac and me.....alone in a car. There is no way to put a value on time like that.
We went to Texas Roadhouse for steaks.....and I asked Isaac to pray for our meal and he did. Out loud. He's 13. I asked him what he liked to watch on his Iphone and he told me about vlogs....and a certain guy he watches whose challenge is to smile more. He does pranks on his girlfriend and loves to make people happy. Huh. So that's what he does on his phone all day long.....watches a guy whose theme is "Smile More". I told Isaac we should buy some of his merchandise. I like that theme. I like that my boy shared part of his world with me today.......
We next went to the mall. I didn't take the kids "school shopping" in August because they pretty much wear their summer stuff for the beginning of school. I asked Isaac to check his closet and decide how many pants/shirts, etc he needed going into fall. He produced a legit list without being excessive. The kid understands we don't have lots of extra money, so he was fair, yet self-preserving. We spent a couple hours at the mall and got him shoes for church/choir concerts, a second set of sneakers cuz at his age, a kid should have 2 pairs of shoes to wear.....2 sweat pants, 2 shirts, some socks, a new Packers stocking cap, a light-weight jacket and a new Packers phone cover. (he's paying for half of that). The kid was thrilled and content. I was proud of him and relieved because he found lots of things on sale! We made a quick trip to Sam's Club for some essentials and a few Isaac snacks: granola bars, Pepsi, canned pears......and a dog bed that is so soft he couldn't stop rubbing it.
We made it home by 6pm to help with homework, dinner, laundry and life. Jeremiah was kinda jealous but worked through it as we watched the lunar eclipse happen. Grace talked to her parents. Claire savored time alone in her cave downstairs....and the littles just did little kid stuff.
Spoil me Sunday. Try it with a loved one soon. You will find that it is way more about spoiling yourself than whoever you drive to the mall. I highly recommend it! Now. Who do I take next?!
All of my kids are special, and wonderful, and worth my time. It's just hard when there are 5 (plus Grace this year!) We did Jeremiah's Spoil Me Sunday last year.....then Claire's kinda got schlepped in with a dance competition weekend.....and Precious wanted to take Josiah and go to walmart and McDonalds....and that's as far as we got last year. Summer took hold and so it goes. Recently, Isaac mentioned that he never got his Spoil Me Sunday. Huh. Apparently the kids are paying attention.....and perhaps.......Spoil Me Sunday matters.
We determined that this week Sunday would work best, so we cleared it with Roger, and warned the rest of the kiddos that today, mom and Isaac were taking Spoil Me Sunday after church. Uncle Todd had given us a hot dish recently, so I thawed that out for sunday dinner for the fam. Isaac and I headed out of town after Sunday School. On the way to Sioux City we talked about life and sports and friends and the future....and I asked him for 2 things he thought were going well and 2 things that were hard right now......it was just Isaac and me.....alone in a car. There is no way to put a value on time like that.
We went to Texas Roadhouse for steaks.....and I asked Isaac to pray for our meal and he did. Out loud. He's 13. I asked him what he liked to watch on his Iphone and he told me about vlogs....and a certain guy he watches whose challenge is to smile more. He does pranks on his girlfriend and loves to make people happy. Huh. So that's what he does on his phone all day long.....watches a guy whose theme is "Smile More". I told Isaac we should buy some of his merchandise. I like that theme. I like that my boy shared part of his world with me today.......
We next went to the mall. I didn't take the kids "school shopping" in August because they pretty much wear their summer stuff for the beginning of school. I asked Isaac to check his closet and decide how many pants/shirts, etc he needed going into fall. He produced a legit list without being excessive. The kid understands we don't have lots of extra money, so he was fair, yet self-preserving. We spent a couple hours at the mall and got him shoes for church/choir concerts, a second set of sneakers cuz at his age, a kid should have 2 pairs of shoes to wear.....2 sweat pants, 2 shirts, some socks, a new Packers stocking cap, a light-weight jacket and a new Packers phone cover. (he's paying for half of that). The kid was thrilled and content. I was proud of him and relieved because he found lots of things on sale! We made a quick trip to Sam's Club for some essentials and a few Isaac snacks: granola bars, Pepsi, canned pears......and a dog bed that is so soft he couldn't stop rubbing it.
We made it home by 6pm to help with homework, dinner, laundry and life. Jeremiah was kinda jealous but worked through it as we watched the lunar eclipse happen. Grace talked to her parents. Claire savored time alone in her cave downstairs....and the littles just did little kid stuff.
Spoil me Sunday. Try it with a loved one soon. You will find that it is way more about spoiling yourself than whoever you drive to the mall. I highly recommend it! Now. Who do I take next?!
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