I started this week thinking, “Hmm the kids don’t have camp, I will do my art thing in the morning and then, we’ll do kid stuff in the afternoon…”
Yeah, anything but!
Yesterday, I started making movies with the kids around 8:30 am and we came back from swimming in the ocean around 8:30 pm. Not to mention we picked up an extra child for a sleepover!
This morning I was serving up waffles and creating more movies with our new sleepover actress 
(note: not a minute to myself) when I realized, ” This is not going to happen. It’s time to let go of that pipe-dream of me-time and just go with the flow!” And at that moment, I realized, this week isn’t going to be about me. It’s going to be about kids. You know, those crazy creatures we decide to have, that most definitely flip any ideas you had about your life completely upside down? Yeah, them! I love them to death, but when they seek your attention, they don’t want 25%, they don’t want 50% OR %75, THEY WANT YOUR 100% FULL ATTENTION. As do all humans. Who wants someone only paying 25% attention to what you are saying to them? No one. It’s rude.
Now don’t get me wrong, paying 100% attention to your kids can be painful. They don’t care about jobs, housework, your own interests, cooking, preparing them for the day, none of these things. They just want you to pay attention to them.
Pure & simple.
But you know what, when you surrender all of your own expectations and pay full attention, you can find great joy in it.
Great Joy. That is the direction I am taking.
So I warn you now, those expecting some major work of art this week? – not going to happen. Creativity? – yes. But that creativity will be going into others. I will most likely not have much to show for it and yet, it is still energy. It will be created and can not be destroyed. I will have to look to others to see its effects and hope that little old me can have an impact on another human being, be they small, in a positive way. In this way it seems so very important. I am very blessed with the opportunity to serve.
So with that said, I’ll show you what we’ve been up to!
Referring back to Post# 190 – What The heck is that? I had some young art students that created paper mache with me. My daughter soon joined in creating a platypus. We decided to reconvene today and have a decorating party. Since we had an extra child visitor, I took a shoe box and helped her create a cat bed, so she had something to decorate today too.
My basement is filled with every craft item you can think of. Anyone wanting to unload craft items, sends them my way! I organize them all into bins and I bring them out to share with kids regularly. I have a fabric scrap bin, yarn bin, paint bin, woodsy bin, recycling bin, glitter, beads, ribbon, stickers, decorative papers, jewelry components, you name it.
Everything got pulled out today!
Each kid put their own mark on the project.
And the results were very special.
I think the whole reason for even embarking on these crazy kid projects is to be able to ask a kid to imagine something, and then in a small way, show them that it is possible. Imagine & manifest.
Again, great joy in that.
I think it’s why I’m so addicted!
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Be Creative Mary 
That sounds like tremendous fun! And good for you giving into the kids wholeheartedly. They deserve it. And sure you had fun, too!