I put my phone away. I turned off the computer and the TV. It felt weird to be so in the moment with no electronic distractions. To me, that is something of a wake up call about my dependence on technology. I have been slowly reducing my use of it, but the habit ("need") is still strong. I will change this.
We started with a game of Battleship, which I won by a narrow margin (I'm pretty sure she peeked at my side, the little stinker).
After Battleship, we busted out some art supplies and got to work. I used crayons to color a picture of a giant crescent moon (with a very happy face, of course) in the night sky next to a unicorn. I made her horn, mane and tail multicolored, and the moon blue. Caitlin made a book with four pages: the title page (I Love You, by Caitlin), I love my mommy, I love my daddy, and I love Gavin. Illustrated, of course. We listened to Pink Floyd "Animals" while we did our art. I had forgotten the simple joy of doing something artistic and completely unstructured while listening to music. It was freeing. I imagined I could feel my brain cells moving in completely different ways than usual. I loved it.
Then we played a game with these new, tiny little figures that she had picked up that day with Nana. I don't know what they are called, but they came in tiny little balls. Caitlin lined up the figures on the edge of a book, set another book in front of them as a "stage", and put on a show for them that consisted of bouncing the empty balls around on the stage. One minute of our time equaled an hour for the tiny people and animals.
We then watched Kronk's New Groove, had popcorn and pumpkin bars, and snuggled on the couch. After brushing our teeth, we snuggled in my bed, read a story (Bad Kitty and Poor Puppy), and went to sleep. Not the best night of sleep I've ever had (she is a restless sleeper!), but it was nice to wake up with my little girl snuggled up next to me. Daddy was kind enough to switch beds with her so that we could have our sleepover.
Once again, this amazing girl has opened my eyes to wonderful things I completely miss when left to my own devices. She inspired me and reminded me of the beauty inherent in the simple things. I am grateful to have such an amazing tiny teacher.
