Mother-Daughter Time

I have often felt very guilty that Caitlin is getting shafted, in terms of having quality time with me, because of it seems that 90% of my time is devoted to Cara and her various therapy sessions and doctors appointments. Despite our crazy schedule, I still try so hard to carve out time for Cait & I--just the two of us. Usually, it's just simple things like coloring together, working on a lesson from her Kindergarten readiness workbook or reading. Sunday, however, I noticed that Caitlin was a bit "out of sorts"--whining and crying more than she normally does. I decided that the cure for her troubles was some "Mommy" time. She has been having to share me with not only her little sister but also my best friend's two children who have been staying with us since November. That gets tough on a kid after awhile.


The cure, you ask? A trip to the restaurant of her choice--TGIFriday's were we dined, colored and laughed. Caitlin devoured her ribs with mandarin oranges washed down with a blue raspberry slush. In between bites, we talked about what was going on her in world and about things at home. As I thought, Caitlin is eager to have our household return to normal again so that she can have more time with both of her parents. I loved having this heart-to-heart with Cait as it gave me a chance to tell her that I loved her, cherished the time that we spent together and that she has voice in our family affairs. We did, though, have a talk about how acting out doesn't get one the kind of attention one wants. Hopefully, in the future, she will feel that she can approach Ben or I when she's feeling sad or left out and work on a remedy for the problem.

We had such a great time that I want to do it again. This time, we are going to go for tea (scroll down to The Tea Box), like grown-up Victorian girls! I met a friend there once for a fresh mint tea latte that was wonderful! Not to mention the cranberry scone that we split. I think I'm going to enjoy Caitlin as a big girl, just as much as I have enjoyed her thus far. A whole new world of things to do together has opened up!