Zilch. Zero. Nil. None. No plans. No routine. No structure. No rules. I lie -- the only rule I encouraged was to have fun. That was our day together in a nutshell.
We stayed inside. Daddy and daughter chilled together inside our warm, cosy building we call home. No strategies whatsoever. No stress, no clock watching to await the next structured plan to take place. Nope. Nothing.
And what a day we had.
My daughter and I winged it.
We didn't clamber for our coats once, or search aimlessly for our shoes; we didn't run to the car during a torrential downpour, or pay for sky-high council car parking charges; I didn't worry about her 'normal' nap time, or think too much about whether 9:58am is suitable for a little left-over Easter egg. During my day off we didn't see any other human for that matter. We were on our own. She was my boss and I was her adult assistant.
We just mucked about all day with no rules to rein us in. We had no clock to worry about, or no structure to adhere to. We just simply went with the flow. An easy-going day full of fun, bonding and an astronomical amount of laughter.
Undoubtedly priceless moments to cherish.
And I loved them. And judging by my daughter's constant smile, I think she did also.
Instead of rushing off in a pool of sweat to an overcrowded toddler group at 9am, we sat in our pyjamas and had breakfast ON THE SOFA until 9:15am. Why? Who cares. Instead of the tedium of washing up the dishes, we danced joyfully around the room to music, (or, 'moomic') as she adorably calls it. Yes, we looked and sounded like weirdos but who cares. Instead of the mind-numbing chore of hanging the washing out on the line, we scoffed ourselves with the few remaining Easter eggs... AT 9:58AM. And made a catastrophic chocolate swimming pool of a mess in the process. Who cares. Instead of hoovering up the breakfast Cheerios from the floor, we ran around the house chasing each other. The Cheerios attached themselves gracefully to the bottom of her Peppa Pig socks. Who cares. Instead of folding clothes, we amused ourselves with Play-Doh. Who cares. Instead of restricting her cartoon time, I relaxed it. And she fell asleep in my arms for the first time in over a year.
Now, that is truly precious.
I suppose my main point here is for all of us to occasionally remember that our children are, indeed, children and not robots - sometimes to conveniently forget the words 'routine' and 'structure' are times when we really experience memorable moments of happiness with our littl'uns. I am also slowly learning to not sweat too much about household chores. They can be done later. Be with your kid instead.
Doing nothing at home with your son or daughter is the best routine in the world.
For more observations, feel free to take a peek at my Daddy page, titled, Daddy Musings.