Yesterday morning, I had a revelation.
I was frantically getting ready, packing for my work day, and gathering Szaba’s stuff for the sitter. But Szaba wasn’t up yet, and I had to wake her. Now, if any of you have (or have had) toddlers, you know this can be a delicate matter.
I’ve read you should avoid this altogether. Barring that, you should allow 15+ minutes to hold and comfort the waking child before throwing them into their day.
Luckily I was running ahead of schedule, so that’s exactly what I did. I dimmed the lights, gently picked her up (squirming and cooing), covered us both with a blanket, and held her on the couch in her room.
What started out as “oh no, something I have to make time for” quickly became “this has the power to change my outlook on the whole day.”
How come every morning, upon hearing her waking, I find it necessary to enter her world, new diaper in hand, breakfast ready to go? Certainly we can both wait 15 minutes for a moment of bliss.
It reminded me of a poem that my friend Shanon forwarded to me last week:
Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, Ladies’ Home Journal (1958)
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep…
Cuddle your little baby. Cuddle your big baby. Cuddle your honey baby. Just make time to cuddle your baby. I’m telling you, this could be the start of something big …
My Castle Heart Publications 
Aw, I love that. I just had a similar thought the other night after dinner. I wanted to clean the kitchen, but the kid said “Daddy I want to play with you.” How could I refuse? I don’t know how many more times in my life I’m going to hear that. Cleaning the kitchen at 10:30 (because I fell asleep in her bed while we were reading books) was a small price to pay.