Yesterday evening was our family debut of "Talking Tuesdays."
"What's that?", you might ask. Well, I created it as a way to (hopefully) keep communications open between my daughters and I as they grow older. Currently I'll just be doing it with Stitch, but as the other girls reach a specific age, I'll set aside talking time for them as well. Since Stitch is seven years old, I'm thinking of making seven the designated age to begin Talking Tuesdays with them too.
I figure that if I don't talk with them when they are young, then why would they talk to me when they are older? That's the time that I want them to talk to me. I want them to come to me with any problems, concerns, questions, and feelings that they may have when they hit the pre-teen and teenage years. I need that door to remain open to them.
This isn't to say that I don't talk to Stitch at other times. Sure, I talk to her. But sometimes when she's talking the baby is crying, or Boo is interrupting, or I'm trying to make dinner, or someone just cut me off in traffic. Sometimes I cannot give her my full, undivided attention. So I wanted to set aside a time that is focused soley on her.
Last night I began by reading a devotion to her from a book called God & Me! Devotions for Girls. These are very short, life application type devotions. They deal with things that kids will encounter on a daily basis, such as sharing, growing up, dealing with mean kids, lying, etc. They are only a few paragraphs long followed by a few questions. We did the devotion (last night's was about growing up) and chatted about the questions. It took all of 5 minutes. Then I explained to her why I was doing Talking Tuesdays with her. I told her that as she grows up, I want her to be able to talk to me about anything she needs to. I told her that our family does not keep secrets and if she has something to say, she's free to say it during Talking Tuesdays or any other time. I explained that I'm always free to listen to her. Of course, she counters this by asking "What if you are in the bathroom?"
But yeah, Stitch is definitely a talker(to those she knows extremely well). Some days I feel like my ear is going to fall off and I end up with my eyes glazing over, nodding, and saying "uh-huh" once in a while. Then she'll ask me a specific question and I'll have no idea what she's talking about LOL. So I felt like I needed a special time just for her. She loves to talk to me. She'll come up to me and say "Mommy, can we talk together?" Sometimes I can, other times I'm right in the middle of something.
One day we'll delve into deeper topics, but last night's conversation consisted of planning her birthday party (yes, it is still months away), reminiscing about favorite vacations that we've taken, and our upcoming Disney trip. As she grows, our topics will evolve and change, sometimes discussing more in-depth topics (sex anyone?) but often staying on lighter notes as well.
I just want to hear what she has to say....hear her opinion on things.....and discover her ideas. Cause you know what? She's a pretty interesting kid with a lot to say.
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