Back to the Basics...and True Mom Confessions

Max was sick all weekend and stayed home from school on Monday. It's not often that he and I are home all alone, just the two of us, for an entire day.

True Mom Confession: I sort of like sick days with kids. I mean when they aren't TOO sick and miserable, of course. I'm talking about those sort-of sick days, when they are almost better, but not completely. They're bored from all that time spent feeling lousy and laying around and watching TV and sleeping, so they're totally ready to DO something. But at the same time, they're still feeling kind of fragile. That means they are highly moldable. Snuggle-able. Content. Energy is low, but connections are high. They're glad simply to be feeling better, and suddenly realize they can reap the benefits of all that precious one-on-one time. Don't get me wrong -- my kids get vaccinated and we wash hands frequently and if you have the flu you will definitely not be welcomed here! I'm just sayin'...a slight illness now and then is actually kinda nice. Does that make me a bad mom? (Or just an honest one?)

So anyway. Monday was a day like that. The worst was over, Max was happy, the house was quiet, his usual tv shows had FINALLY lost their allure. It was the perfect day to go back to the basics, where basics equals all those good things I used to do when the kids were little that I don't really do anymore.

The most exciting thing we did was making homemade play dough. Max enjoyed the cooking process (though was very upset that I wouldn't let him stir the burning hot pan of ingredients or play with it immediately), and he had fun choosing which two colors to add to the finished product.

We played with the dough for a long time. Each time his attention began to fade, I pulled out a new trick. Stamps! Knives! Cookie cutters! Look -- PRETEND PIZZAS! He requested that I make violins, which I actually managed to do. Then he wanted me to make his favorite Christmas song. (That one totally stumped me.) I distracted him by making one of his other favorite things, instead -- his name.

This was a good day, illness and all.

Just a nice quiet day with a boy and his mom.

And some play dough.

Having said all that, it's now high time for Max to go back to school.

*Giving him Sudafed and quickly wiping away the tell-tale line of snot as I push him out the door and wave merrily at the bus driver.*

Because here's my other True Mom Confession: I really, really, REALLY love school days, too.