Just Five Minutes

I've been noticing a trend lately, well maybe two trends. The first one is E's growing desire for a playmate. The second corresponds to the first, in the sense that I have found myself saying "no" to her way more often than I want to.

I've been observing this over the past couple of weeks, and decided to play out some sage advice from my friend, M. A few weeks ago, we were talking about our kiddos, and she mentioned that if she or her husband will give their child "just five minutes" of their attention to play with the toy of choice, they can then walk away and he will keep playing with whatever they started together.

So...I've been trying this the past couple of days with HUGE success. Not only am I able to say "no" a lot less often (and still get the dishes into the dishwasher!), but E is learning to play independently for longer and longer spans of time. Today I even watched as she replaced my "spot" with Tigger and Pooh once I'd vacated ("You sit there, you sit there."). So precious.

There are so many lessons that I am learning from great moms and wives that have gone before me. I offended my own mom the other day by calling her "old" (which she is everything but that in spirit), yet I am thankful that she is full of incredibly wise advice only gained through years of experience. :) I often do not intentionally seek out relationships with other women, so it's been - without a doubt - God's sovereign hand that has led me under the wings of these women. And today, I am truly thanking God for them (ol' ma included!).