Posts Tagged ‘One on one time’

Mommy-Daughter Time

Monday, January 26th, 2015
From Monday Mom – Neetika:
I really missed Haley while I stayed at the hospital with Hudson. For the last few years, it’s been me and my girl, together almost all of the time. It was so hard being apart from her. I couldn’t believe how well she handled my absence. She stayed with my parents and only whined about missing me intermittently. I only got to see her for a few hours on a few random days, but she seemed to understand that I needed to be with Hudson at the hospital. For a little girl who not more than a few weeks ago was not thrilled to share her parents with anyone, her maturity was impressive. As soon as I got home, I told my husband that I wanted to do something special with Haley– just the two of us.
I had what I thought was the perfect plan. Haley had never been to a movie theater and was very excited about the new “Annie” remake that recently came out. She had seen the original several times– thank you very much, streaming video services. Taking her would be a huge treat. I told her we were doing something special and loaded her into the car. As we approached the mall where this particular theater is, she asked excitedly if we were going to the “big girls’ store,” also known as Claire’s. I told her no, and pointed to the theater. She was so excited. She loved getting our tickets, ordering popcorn (which she had never had before) and getting settled in our seats. She scarfed down her snack as she happily watched the previews. Then the movie started. But we were just passed the early scene featuring “It’s A Hard Knock Life” when she decided she had had enough. Haley announced that she was tired, and that she wanted to go home and “lie down and watch a show.” I was worried that would happen, since she woke up extra early that day, but I was hoping the excitement of the new adventure would allow her to power through. It wasn’t to be.
I often put too much pressure on myself– and by extension, on Haley– in these situations. Luckily, before we left my husband made a point of reminding me that whenever Haley wanted to leave, it’s fine to go. So that’s what we did. Of course, later in the day, she was begging us to take her to the movies again with earnest promises that she would stay the whole time. I think we’ll wait until she’s a bit older. It wasn’t an entirely wasted day, as we did stop at the “big girls’ store” on the way out, where Haley procured a sparkly pink headband. She earned it being such a brave girl these last few weeks. Maybe we didn’t get to see the movie, but we were together. Which made it the most perfect day we could have had.