“If you are having fun, everyone else in your house will as well. Ever wonder how generational blessing trickles down in families? All it takes is one mom who is committed to wholeness and joy. This is powerful stuff. You are the person who can change the things that bother you about your family culture. You are the person who can break cyclical patterns, and you are the person who can bring fun and lightness into not only your home but into your lineage for generations to come. It is a generational legacy and it can start with you.”
--Mandy Arioto, Have More Fun
Pre-kids, friends always knew me as a spontaneous and joyful person. I like to think that I am still fairly spontaneous and I still live to make my husband and friends laugh. But I’m finding that there are days that I struggle to feel true joy in my parenting. Some days I’m frustrated that my 4-year-old is sneaking the iPad when screen time is over or my 2-year-old is refusing to eat his lunch. Other days, I get so wrapped up in my to-do list, that I get frustrated when my kids want my attention. It honestly hurts to write that last bit.
I’m definitely a work in progress, but I am doing my best to be more intentional to move in the right direction and to make joy and fun a priority in our home. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes adding joy means listening to music and singing along while making breakfast, playing WITH my kids at the park, spontaneous dance parties in the living room, going to minor league baseball games, and baking banana bread for the local fire departments. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, it just requires intentionality. Just do whatever you love to do (dancing and baking are my jam) and bring your kids along for the ride!
I can’t help but wonder what my kids will remember from their childhood. Will it be that mom always folded laundry or that she always danced while she did it?
What is one thing you can do this week to have more fun with your kids?