We were stuck in our NYC apartment for 8 full days. And by stuck, I mean we chose (mostly because it was FREEZING outside and partially out of laziness) to stay inside during our now 3 year old twin girls’ Christmas vacation. Now this was never the plan. It wasn’t our intention to lounge around in PJs everyday. We had sitter support because we still had to go to work. We even put out feelers for playdates and dreams of say, visiting that huge Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, or maybe going to the Children’s Museum of Art all the way cross-town because man did the girls really dig that last time we went out there when it was 65 degrees.
But alas, no go. Good intentions. Great dreams. But we stayed indoors. And you know what we did with that big stretch of a weekend leading up to New Year’s Eve (when we were thankfully invited to our neighbor’s house for a party)?
WE CLEANED! I mean, we tore up the closet that we’d thrown every unused toy, tool, vase and knick knack in. We tried on clothes that were stuck in the nether regions of drawers and backs of closets. I made LABELS! AND extra attached them to the bins with the good Scotch tape for super support to stay on all of 2018!
And at some point, amid the mess of all closet items spread out in our room, I FELT our family of four completely in sync. And I paused. And I smiled - on my face and in my heart. My husband was on a mission to fix all power cords, TV wires and computer connections so they weren’t being showcased so prominently. Hope was testing out old toy figures we found. Makena was “helping me” sort the junk, I mean, treasures we found. And we were together. Like really together.
And cleaning, reorganizing and labeling (can you tell I’m into labels - that’s another article), became an extraordinary family moment. As parents, we all know that our lives are filled with these tasks, chores, challenges and if we’re not paying attention - ordinary moments. But we choose and make these moments. Here’s to the extraordinary moments we will all choose in this New Year.
Cheers - Marc
PS. Feel free to share your ordinary moment gone extraordinary with us at www.flipitlife.com. For us parents, sharing is daring when we share our truths and it can help us try new ideas out in our family lives. Looking forward to connecting with you!